The Little Things Give You Away
by Mistress of Destruction
Summary: After hearing the confession of a soon to be exorcised demoness, Dante learns of Vergil's fate. Together with Lady, he returns to Hell to save his brother. Future VxL.
1. Devil's Cry

The Little Things Give You Away

Chapter 1: Devil's Cry

The child writhed and wiggled on the bed in attempts of breaking the bonds keeping her to the bed. She screamed shrilly, her head lifting clear off the pillows, her long dark hair being tossed back by the sudden movement to reveal pitch black eyes, the only clear evidence of the possessing demoness.

The girl's parents stood in the corner watching in horror as their 'daughter' continued to thrash on the bed, their eyes drifting every so often to the red clad hunter that paced back and forth before the bed.

"You know, you demons never learn." The hunter growled, wagging his finger at the girl as if she had been very naughty. "How many times do I have to tell you creeps? Kids Are Off Limits!"

"How can it be my fault, if they are so easy to posses?" The demoness within the child spoke seductively, which coming from the lips of the little girl just sounded far to wrong.

Platinum hair flew softly as Dante shook his head, only to settle once more into its accustomed mess. Instead of answering the demon, Dante stopped his pacing and turned to the parents. "You may want to leave. This can get kinda rough." He smiled kindly at them.

"No," The father spoke, his Mexican accent thick. "We will stay. Ella es…" the man chocked back a sob and started anew, remembering that their guest didn't speak Spanish. "She is our only child."

The mother said nothing, simply holding onto her husband for all she was worth, tears streaming down her face as she watched the form of her daughter grin manically at them.

"Suit yourself." Dante shrugged, and turned back toward the possessed child. Swivelling a nearby chair around, he sat down on it propping his arms up on the back to watch the little girl for a moment. "Hope you enjoyed yourself, cause the party's over and its time you vacated the premises." He told the demoness, a slight smirk playing across his prefect lips.

The demoness screamed at him in response, thrashing against her bonds with renewed vigor as he slowly began to recite the Latin exorcism spell.

The demoness screamed horridly in renewed effort, the small body of the girl heaving up against the restraints in tortured movements. "Wait!" She screeched, "Wait, I can give you information!"

Dante paused, rising an elegant white brow in amusement. "Now what can you tell me that I don't already know, or won't find out on my own in short order, hmm?"

"What…" The girl panted, demonic black eyes turning to him once more. "What would you be willing to pay?"

Chuckling, Dante spoke humorously, with a slight tinge of annoyance creeping in. "Well I would have to know what it was that I would be willing to pay for?"

"Your brother."

Dante's beautifully crafted face turned down into an ugly frown. "My brother is dead." He stated before continuing the exorcism.

"No, NO! Your brother LIVES!" The demoness howled out, as the girl's body withered once more with the effects of the ritual.

Stopping once more, Dante glared down at the girl, his blue eyes burnt angrily. "Say one more thing about my…" He was cut off as the demoness panted out once more.

"Mundus is keeping him alive, though a tortured existence it is, for his failure! The master would never kill something so valuable as a son of Sparda!"

Dante shook his head. "And how am I to know your actually telling the truth?"

The demoness seemed to see the flaw in her plans, for the little girl's face contorted into such horror, that Dante smirked anew and continued the chant once more.

The demoness screamed again, and suddenly the little girl's real voice spoke up. "Mamá, Papá tengo miedo! Ayudanme!" Tears flowed down from the girl's now brown eyes, as her small voice screamed in anguish. "Please, Mamá!"

The mother moved, trying to break her husband's grip. "Oh, my little one! Yo podré rescatarte!" The woman's voice sobbed as she continually tried to pull away from her husband. Who only held his her tighter, nearly fighting with her to keep her from running toward their possessed daughter.

"No lo haga!" He ordered his wife firmly.

Dante paid the parents little heed, continuing to speak solidly and without falter, until with a final shattering wail, the girl's mouth gapped open, a thick black cloud of smoke exploded from her small lips.

Pulling a large white handgun from the holster at the small of his back, Dante calmly aimed it at the black cloud floating up toward the ceiling, waiting for it to reform. The smoke did no such thing, instead, simply vaporizing into thin air the moment it hit the ceiling.

Holstering the gun, Dante stood up, pushing the chair out of the way and slowly unbound the little girl. The little girl was sobbing in fear and anguish of the strain her little body had been forced to endure.

The moment her bonds were completely released, the parents both dove onto the bed grabbing and holding their frightened child.

Smiling softly at the happy scene, Dante took his leave, but was stopped by the father just as his fingers curled about the door handle.

"Gracias, señor! Thank you!" The father exclaimed, his arms still around the forms of both his wife and daughter.

"No prob. Like I said before, little kids shouldn't have to be put through that. Take care of her."

The father nodded, and Dante turned the handle, leaving the family to their reunion.

Author's Notes: Thanks to my wonderful beta Scitzo and Psyco for her excellent work on the Spanish parts of this chapter. Without her, it would have just stayed in English.

For everyone else, please review and let me know what you think! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!!


	2. Memories and Decisions

Disclaimer: Crap! I so forgot this on the last chapter. Anyway, I own almost 50 head of cattle, almost 30 cats (anyone want kittens?), 2 budgies, 1 dog, a truck, tractor, PS2, etc., etc. You get the idea. These I will defend viciously if any one tries to steel them and if need be I'll get the boys to help me. Right boys?

Vergil: Why not.

Dante: Sure!

What I do not own are the boys and anything else associated with them or Devil May Cry. Now you know.

Author's Notes: Just so everyone knows, anything said within the past is in italics and flashbacks are kept within the small '-----' breaks. K? Good, on with the story!

Chapter 2: Memories and Decisions

_Leave me and go, if you don't want to be trapped in the Demon World. I'm staying, this place was our father's home._

_-----------------_

Vergil's last words rang through Dante's mind as he sped through the streets of New York.

He thought he had gotten over losing his brother, but continuously Dante found that that was further from the truth than he had ever believed. When Vergil had fallen, it was the first time Dante had felt truly and utterly alone. Sure he had been alone before, but the knowledge that his brother, his twin was out there somewhere in the world, had been comforting.

Lips pursed, as Dante pushed the motorbike to even higher speeds. His coat and hair whipping back behind him, as he shot through an intersection, trusting to his demonic abilities to keep himself safe.

The last time he had seen Vergil, Dante hadn't even known that it had been his brother. Not until he had finally defeated the demonic warrior known as Nelo Angelo and the other half of his mother's amulet appeared in the wake of the demon's defeat had he known.

_-----------------_

_No one can have this, Dante. It's mine. It belongs to a son of Sparda! _Vergil had said, clutching the amulet as he backed toward the cliff.

_-----------------_

Not once during the time that he had battled with Nelo Angelo had he ever said anything, nothing! Remembering the verbal battles that had taken place during their physical battles, Dante had been hard pressed to believe that the silent Nelo Angelo had been Vergil, even with the cold proof of the amulet in his hands.

Dante was forced to slow and then ultimately stop the black bike as he reached his shop. Kicking down the stand, he swept off the bike and headed into his place of residence.

'Well, Vergil, can rot for all I care. It was his choice!' Dante snarled internally, even as a smaller voice softly and simply told him that sure he may never have liked his twin, but that didn't mean he didn't love him.

Growling grumpily, Dante opened the door to his shop and slammed it behind himself as he strode into the comfortable warm interior of his office.

"Sounds like you're in a wonderful mood this evening." It was a statement not a question, voiced by the beautiful blond sitting behind his desk, files scattered over its wooden top.

He didn't answer her, instead moved to the weapons rack, his boots clumping over the wooden floor boards, to deposit his various weapons.

"Did it not go well?" Sapphire blue eyes lifted from the paperwork, to study his broad red coated back. "Is the girl…"

"The girl's fine." He stated, his gaze lingering on the black handgun in his hands. An elegant firearm that he had crafted for his brother, a perfect match to the white handgun already in its cradle on the wall.

_-----------------_

_Hey, Verge! Look what I got for you!_

_And what would suddenly inspire me to be interested in your tinkering? _None the less Vergil had turned from his sword practice, and walked gracefully over to where Dante had sat at the workbench.

_Ah, don't be such a party pooper. You'll like this._ Dante had smiled and stood from his position on a stool and turned to face his leaner twin, handing him a pitch-black gun.

Sheathing his katana at his side, Vergil accepted the weapon, his eyes roving critically over the smooth surface. _A gun is hardly a honourable weapon. Perhaps, it's best you keep it._

_Don't worry, bro! I got my own! _Dante had grinned foolishly, spinning a white mirror image of the gun in Vergil's hand." _I call them Ebony and Ivory!_

_How inventive, brother. _Vergil had responded sarcastically. _I suppose though it is best for one to have knowledge on a wide range of weaponry._

_That's the spirit! _Dante's grin grew to tremendous proportions.

Then with a quick move that was fallowed to perfection by his brother, Dante and Vergil stood back to back, the newly made weapons locked together as they pointed at an imaginary target. _Jackpot!_ The twins announced in unison, before laughing heartily.

_-----------------_

Closing his eyes, Dante held the gun a moment longer before placing it on the wall next to its twin. "The kid's probably gonna need therapy for the rest of her life, but besides that she should be fine."

"So then what's got you in such a foul mood, hmm?" Trish's soft voice asked.

"Nothing important." Dante replied softly, and walked to his jukebox and pressed one of the many buttons. Instantly, heavy metal music pumped out over the speakers.

Nodding his head along with the beat and feeling already slightly better he turned toward the slight blonde woman behind his desk. "Any calls?" he asked in a lighter tone, causing Trish to lift an eyebrow curiously at the sudden shift in moods.

"No, it's been quiet." She eyed him a moment longer, and apparently giving up on trying to figure out what was going on in his head, returned to her work.

"Where's Lady and Lucia?" He asked, blue eyes surveying the office area for any sign of the demon huntresses.

"Lady's taking a shower, and Lucia went out to get you some pizza before patrol."

"Ah, she sure knows how to fix a bad day!" He grinned thinking of the pizza en route.

"Who's having a bad day?" Lady's voice echoed down to the office below.

Wincing inwardly, Dante turned to greet the woman who had known him the longest.

"Have a nice shower?" He asked with forced enthusiasm.

Lady stood atop the metal grated stairs that lead to the bedrooms, toweling her dark hair dry. She stopped at the sound of his voice, her multi-colored eyes narrowing slightly, having caught the forced tone of his voice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, apparently." Trish stated, from behind the desk, her gaze not leaving the file folder before her as she jotted down notes.

"Bullshit." Lady announced, and descended the steps in a rush, her combat boots hitting the metal with a clang.

"What are you hiding now?" she asked, stopping before him, her hands planted on her hips in a 'no nonsense' stance.

"Umm…" he started, running a hand through his unruly hair.

"And don't give me that 'nothing' shit!" Her two-toned eyes practically spat fire.

'Shit,' if there was one thing he had promised himself never to do again, was piss Lady off. "Well…"

"Spill it!" She commanded sharply.

Glaring angrily at the small human woman before him, he snapped back, not enjoying taking orders, 'sides, wasn't he supposed to be the boss?' "What's it to you anyway?"

"I don't care to have to deal with you moping around here for the next week. It tends to make you forget to do your chores. And unlike Trish and Lucia, I am not going to cater to your demon ass, just cause you're down in the dumps!"

Trish gave an indigent "hey" that was completely ignored by the fiery raven-haired huntress.

"Now out with it! Or am I just going to have to beat it out of you?"

"Fine!" Dante nearly roared, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "That demonic bitch that I exorcised today, said Vergil's alive! Are you happy now?" he shouted, glaring angrily down at Lady.

Lady's face fell into one of shock, causing Dante's anger to deflate like a balloon. Unlike Trish, Lady had known the real Vergil, even as brief as it was. After the fall of Temen-ni-gru, she had grudgingly told him how that after his defeat of her within the Devine Library, Vergil had found her and instead of killing her like she had assumed, he had taunted her into picking herself up and continuing toward her final goal. And then together they had made the final way up through the tower each helping the other.

Lady turned to Trish, who for her credit even looked a bit taken aback, her pen still poised over the file. "Impossible, Mundus would not have tolerated his failure." Trish spoke after a moment's silence.

Dante frowned in consideration, "The demoness said he was being tortured. That a son of Sparda was too valuable to kill."

Scratching her head with the blunt end of the pen, Trish's lips twisted in thought. "It's possible however slight. Mundus may be just trying to break him."

"Break a horse's spirit and they're no good to anyone." Lady spoke softly, contemplatively.

"Still…" Dante spoke sadly.

"You aren't seriously considering going in after him?" Trish asked, aghast enough at the mere thought to put her pen down.

"He's my brother." Dante spoke calmly.

Lady nodded in understanding, it had been her that had taught him the meaning of family in the first place.

"It won't hurt to at least look into it. If we can't find away in, then at least I tried." Dante shrugged his broad shoulders nonchalantly.

Trish sighed, but was kept from saying anything else to the effect as the front door was suddenly burst into.

"Pizza!" Lucia called.

Reviewer Thanks:

Yodel: Thanks so much for the review and hoped you liked Lady's entrance!

ShyAnon: Sorry, this chapter wasn't much longer. I promise there will be a few longer chapters coming up. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last!


	3. Highway to Hell

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to DMC. See the last chapter's disclaimer if you need more info. I also forgot to mention this but I got the title from this story from the song by the same name by Linkin Park off their new CD Minutes to Midnight. Not sure if that's so important, but just in case.

Chapter 3: Highway To Hell

The headlights of Dante's black BMW K 1200 S motorrad, Lady's red Honda Interceptor and Trish's silver Ferrari, illuminated the broken, barren pavement of an old abandoned highway that stretched on into the darkness. No birds, insects or other nighttime creatures disturbed the unsettling silence of the ancient highway. Not even any vegetation had grown up between the fissures of crumbling pavement, as one might have expected, as what they had seen on the highway extending behind them. The road had been hard to travel, navigation around the new forest growth and pot holes had been just about as much fun as one of Vergil's parties.

It had taken them six months of hard work and searching, to finally lead Dante, and his three female comrades to this particular place.

Dante stared silently out into the darkness, silently observing with his demonic gifted sight how the vegetation, and all life for that matter, had pulled far back from the road.

He was dressed in his usual long red leather coat, black combat vest over a silk shirt matching the colour of his coat, tucked neatly into black leather pants, that was completed by black combat boots and gloves.

"This is foolishness. You are risking your life for someone who wanted to remain within Hell." Lucia spoke, her face twisted into an ugly scowl. Holding an ancient text in her hands, Lucia was dressed the most casually, wearing low riding jeans and a tight green wool shirt with her fiery red hair let lose from its usual braid. The only thing not casual about her, were the two curved daggers sheathed on either side of her hips.

Dante shrugged, meeting her deep green eyes with his piercing blue. "He's still my brother."

Lucia shook her head and Trish spoke up, dressed in all black as was her usual. "You know, what you find might not be what you imagined. He might be beyond saving." She spoke with a slight sadness to her voice as if she were remembering something from her own rescue back on Mallet, her blue eyes gazing down at the completed form of his mother's amulet.

"I know." Dante spoke, bowing his head. God only knew what Vergil had been through, and as much as Dante would have liked to believe that the indomitable soul of his brother still survived, reality was that there probably wasn't anything left to salvage. "I still have to try, if for nothing else than to let my own soul rest easier."

Trish and Lucia shook their heads, and Dante glanced toward the final, oddly silent member of their team, for it had been she that had taught him about the meaning of family in the first place.

Lady stood beside Lucia, her head bowed in thought, short dark hair cascading around her face. She wore a simple white blouse, and black pants that were pulled over her combat boots. Two belts, loaded down with ammunition, criss-crossed her slender hips giving her an almost old fashioned western look, if it hadn't been for the multitude of guns holstered all over her slight frame or the large heavy rocket launcher slung over her back.

Dante waited, silently hoping she might yet voice her opinion. Finally, sighing he turned away from the three women to regard the darkness once more. "Whenever your ready." He spoke out loud to the women behind him.

"Just a few more minutes." Lucia spoke, the sound of old crinkly pages turning.

A few minutes later, Lucia's voice sounded out through the still air, chanting in the old language of demons. Moments later his mother's amulet, glowing brightly, lifted off Trish's hands and flying into the air before Dante, levitated high above the ground. Seconds after that a reddish swirling mass formed around the amulet, growing exponentially as Lucia's voice grew louder, until the demonic portal was as large as he was.

"Well, wish me luck!" Dante grinned cockily toward the women, and started forward.

"Wait!" Lady's voice suddenly spoke up, stopping him in his tracks.

He turned back toward her, "If you wanted a kiss good bye, all you had to do was say."

Ruby and sapphire eyes narrowed, glaring back at him. "Try it and I'll shoot you in the head again."

Rolling his eyes in mirth, Dante couldn't have been happier for her banter, even if it was last minute, it made light on his current situation. "That's getting a bit old, don't you think?"

Lady shook her head. "A bullet to the head seems to be the only way to get you to think straight."

Dante opened his mouth to give her his opinion on that, but was cut off by her growl.

"Just shut up for a minute, will you Dante!" Her hands were pulled into fists and her jaw was set firmly, giving Dante just a little shiver up the spine. When the woman decided on something, nothing, not even God himself, was going to change her mind.

"I'm coming with you." She announced, receiving small gasps from all in attendance.

Completely flabbergasted, Dante tried to pick up his mouth from the ground. That was the last thing he had expected.

Lady took Dante's moment of speechlessness, a rarity in itself, and continued on, using the moment for all it was worth. "There's no way I'm letting you get yourself killed over that worthless brother of yours." She said, though her voice didn't hold the normal venomous conviction to it, leading Dante to wonder for the thousandth time what had truly happened between her and his brother.

"This world still needs you, as much as I hate to admit it. And like it or not your going to need help getting back out of there. You won't be able to carry him and fight off all those demons."

Glaring at her, Dante opened his mouth to argue but was beat to it once more.

"Humans can not survive in Hell. You would be turned into a quivering mass of fear within moments." Lucia stated, without emotion.

Lady's lips twisted further in her stubbornness. "I made it through Temen-ni-gru by myself. I can handle my fear!"

Truth be told, Dante was just a little giddy at the idea of having someone with him, he wasn't really sure he wanted to face the sight of his brother's fate alone, but there was no way he was going to risk Lady's life like that. "Listen to Lucia, Hell is not like Temen-ni-gru, its much much worse! I'm not…" Dante was cut off yet again as Lady stepped forward and jabbed her finger into his chest.

"I've learned a lot since Temen-ni-gru, but like it as not, your going to need help and don't deny that, Dante! And unless…" Lady turned toward the other two women. "One of you feels inclined to go…" Lady waited for an answer but was only met with silence and lowered heads as she shot to make eye contact with either of the women. "Then I'm going, and that's final!"

Sighing, Dante gave in. What else was he supposed to do?

"You stay close you hear. Hell will try to seduce your mind, and turn anything you've ever known against you. Stay close at all times!"

Trish perked up, "You can't honestly be considering…"

He silenced her with a glare and turned back to look Lady in her two toned eyes. "Promise me! Or I'm leaving your ass right here!"

"I promise to stay close." Lady stated evenly, and hitching Kalina Ann higher up onto her shoulders stepped up beside him, eyeing the swirling mass of clouded fire before them. "I have no intention of wandering off."

"Good" Dante nodded, and glancing back at the other two women, whom were giving him mixed expressions, waved a hand and said "Be good now!"

They both glared at him, but their glares only met the back of his white head as Dante grabbed Lady's gloved hand in his and together they jumped through the gate.

Reviewers Thanks:

Demona (): I'm glad that you are enjoying it thus far. I've never read to many stories with Trish in them, since I'm a big Lady fan. And since I didn't get a good take on either her or Lucia's personality's, (since Trish kinda just popped in and out of DMC1 and I never played Lucia in DMC 2 (it was too easy playing as Dante and I really didn't feel like playing it through again)) As for Vergil, I don't really want to give anything away, but I promise he'll be in the sixth chapter.

BladeMaster16: Thank you so much for your review! I look forward to hearing your thoughts in future chapters.

ElvenHope: I know it's a very overdone plot, but I couldn't get it out of my head and my beta really liked it, so I decided what the hell.

I got the idea of Dante being an exorcist from two sources. One was from the manual of DMC1, where the informant says that Dante is weird – taking any jobs that involving hauntings, exorcisms and the like. The second was from the show Supernatural. If you haven't seen it yet I highly recommended it. Dean reminds me a lot of Dante.

As for Dante, Vergil and Lady, I'm trying to keep them in character as much as possible. Course sometimes that's easier said than done.

Yodel: Hey! Thought you might enjoy Lady's entrance. As for Vergil he'll come in on the sixth chapter.

Deshi no Sephiroth: Thanks very much! I've had other ideas in the past for DMC fics, but none of them have really panned out. This one just seems to flow. As for a beta, thanks for the offer but I already have one. But if you spot something that we missed or just don't like the way I wrote something, by all means please let me know!

Chrome: Thank you so much for your wonderful words of encouragement. I always figured that despite the fact that Dante's out and about elsewhere that Lady would have stuck by him. And since she seemed pretty good at figuring things out in the game, I thought it only natural that after a couple of years she'd pretty much know all of Dante's quirks.


	4. The Deceptions of Hell

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to DMC. See the chapter 2 disclaimer if you need more info.

Author's Notes: Hello every one! Thank you to all those that have reviewed. Words cannot express how much I love to hear what you all think of this story thus far. Anyway, breaks between scenes or character POV's will now be separated by '', flashback scenes will still be separated by '---'. All right, now no one will get confused. Enjoy and please don't forget to review!

Chapter 4: The Deceptions of Hell

The moment they jumped through a harsh white light blinded them. Standing on apparent thin air, Dante waited for his eyesight to adjust to the light. Moments later he was able to make out the area in which they stood. Large greyish white boulders hovered mid air in random intervals before them. Everything else was simply filled with the bright white light.

"My God!" Lady whistled, her eyes obviously having adjusted to the light enough to take in the rest of the world.

"Nope, sorry, God doesn't live here." Dante spoke softly, keying his super senses into every possible threat around them.

"If it wasn't so creepy…" Lady shuddered, pulling a gun from the holster on her thigh. "I'd be hard pressed to believe you."

Letting go of his hand, Lady peered carefully around them. Instincts that she had carefully honed over the years, stood at attention, ready for anything.

"Why would Vergil want to live in a place like this?" She questioned softly.

Walking forward, Dante didn't answer her right away.

"I'm never…" Lady started, looking ahead to the distance between the respective boulders, but then snapped her mouth shut as the boulders levitated toward them, slowly forming a road as Dante moved forward.

"Vergil took our mother's death pretty hard." Dante started, speaking softly, and paying little attention to the flying boulders. "He blamed himself."

Lady nodded in understanding, walking closely behind Dante.

"He thought that if only he had been stronger, less human, than maybe he could have saved her." Dante continued sorrowfully, brushing a hand through his mop of white hair absently.

"I know how he must have felt." Lady answered softly, remembering the loss of her own mother.

They remained silent there after, Dante leading the way into the light.

Lady decided she truly, really truly, hated Hell. After passing through the brilliant light without incident, Dante had taken them through a portal into the exact opposite of the area before. Now, forced to trust to her other instincts, she clutched Dante's long red coat, blindly being led through the pitch black. She skilfully fought back her fear, instead concentrating on the comforting weight of the pistol in her hand and sound of her shuffling feet and Dante's strong footfalls. For once, she was more than gratefully for his half-demon heritage, for if it weren't for his demon-enhanced vision, she wouldn't have had so much as a prayer of navigating through this impenetrable darkness. Not only did it have its practical advantage, but also the slight glow to his unnaturally cerulean eyes, provided a nice reminder to Lady that she was not in fact completely blind.

A sudden stop though had her running straight into Dante's broad back.

Uttering a very unladylike curse, she cursed her current dependence on the platinum haired half-demon. If there was one thing she hated more than anything else, it was having to depend so completely on someone else to keep you alive.

"What is it?" she questioned, whispering softly and still not liking how her voice rang loudly through the darkness.

"Shh." His voice spoke softly.

Listening for what seemed forever, Lady finally heard the low sound of shuffling feet and the soft guttural growls of lesser demons surrounding them.

Lady shivered in fear, she wanted nothing more than to run through the confining darkness and scream out her frustrations. How was she supposed to fight, when she couldn't see a bloody thing?

The only thing keeping her rooted and sane was years of experience in dealing with demons coupled with Dante's comforting presence mere millimetres from her.

"Hold on." Dante's voice rang through the darkness and Lady suddenly found herself pulled tightly against his chest. "Pull out your guns and just start shooting around me!" he ordered, pulling out his own guns. "I'll take care of the rest."

Hearing the urgency in his voice, Lady didn't hesitate to do as she was told. Focusing specifically on her guns, Lady pulled a second pistol from her thigh, and holding both pistols on either side of Dante, her arms pressed tightly against his leather coated sides, she began firing.

She heard the cries of the demons as her bullets connected with their flesh, and smirked despite herself, fear being effectively throttled by her battle lust. Hearing the empty click of one gun, she wasted no time in holstering it and grabbing another gun, before resuming her barrage of bullets.

All the time Dante kept them moving forward, his own guns – Ebony and Ivory – releasing a storm of bullets from either side of her body.

Swivelling suddenly, Dante simultaneously holstered one weapon to wrap his now free arm tightly around her waist. Still firing rapidly with his remaining pistol, he suddenly leapt backwards giving Lady the odd feeling of flying.

Landing hard on the ground of a new area, Lady happily found that she could once again see her surroundings. Keeping her guns poised for anything that might jump out at them, Lady snuck a glance down at Dante, whom was lying beneath her with a big dorky grin plastered on his face.

"You know Lady, anyone ever tell you, you've got nice tits?"

Shocked by his statement, Lady noticed that his eyes were not focused on her face but rather down her blouse.

Outraged, Lady snarled "Get a life!" before roughly jabbing her elbow into his stomach as she pulled herself off of him.

"Ow!" Dante grunted at the impact, then with a cocky grin he crossed his arms behind his head, watching her brush herself off. "Why Lady, I didn't know you cared."

He instantly regretted it, when she answered with a swift kick to his side.

"Man, no wonder you don't have a boyfriend. Always so violent." Dante grumbled, rubbing his ribs as he climbed to his feet.

"Boyfriends are over rated." Lady answered half-heartedly, her eyes taking in the landscape around them.

The ground on which they stood was a peculiar shade of red gravely dirt, that stretched on into the distance, every so often rising up into a hill, such as the one they were standing on. Above them, the sky was lit by a multitude of reds, pinks and purples, as if the sun was just setting.

In the distance, Lady could make out small black shapes drifting over the plains and hills. Ever so often, a larger form would scatter the smaller objects as it drifted through them. Far overhead, in the distance a few even larger black figures, somewhat resembling dragons, flew in large lopping spirals.

"This is more like I imagined Hell to look like." Lady whispered, afraid that someone might hear her. Her fear grew, threatening to take over her heart, as she looked out over the groups of moving demons, causing her guns to sag down to the ground.

"What?" Dante chuckled cockily, undeterred by the masses of demons. "I thought all humans believed Hell was all fire and brimstone?"

His confidence was comforting to Lady's ears, and helped her to fight her fear once more. "No" she answered him, shaking her head slightly. "My…" Lady stopped, frowning. Then pursing her lips grimly, she forced the next words out with scorn. "My father taught me when I was young that Hell was not simply made of fire. But was more a place that in a way mirrored earth, however hideously, a place where the sun endlessly set."

Dante shook his head, and muttered with his own scorn-tinged voice. "Yeah, Arkham."

After a moments pause, he spoke again, the cockiness gone from his voice. "Come on. Lets get my brother and get out of here."

Lady nodded, but then it suddenly occurred to her. "How are we going to find him?"

A small smirk tugged at the corner of Dante's lips. "We're twins remember."

Lady shrugged and keeping close behind followed Dante out onto the plains.

Dante wasn't sure how long they had been walking through the plains, but he could steadily feel the presence of his brother - tingling in his blood like electricity - get stronger.

It nearly made him giddy with excitement. How long had it been now? Five… six years? Sure he hadn't always liked Vergil, but he had loved him. They were brothers after all, and when Vergil had stead-fastedly refused Dante's help back at Temen-ni-gru, it had been like a cold hard kick in the ass. But even then he had held out a small, very small mind you, hope that someday his brother would come to his senses and crawl back out of Hell. It may have been their father's home at one point, but it sure as heck wasn't theirs. The fact that Mundus had practically beaten Vergil's spirit out of him, was evidence enough of that.

The question was though, would he be able to rekindle his twin's spirit? Or had even the last small glimmer of his soul, that had made the demon warrior Nelo Angelo an honorable fighter, been stomped out?

Dante was willing to bet that deep down, Vergil's soul still ragged, buried and protected within the thickest of ice.

Glancing toward Lady, he admired how she was still managing to keep from shrieking and running off into the distance. Any other human would have succumbed to the terrors of Hell long ago, but save for the clenched grip she had on her guns and the nearness of her body – something she would have never done in the human world, priding herself on her independence – she showed nothing of her fear.

It was slow going however since Dante was careful to steer them as clear of demons as he possibly could, with the little cover that was afforded. At some points he would pull Lady down, ducking close behind a hill in order to keep from being spotted by one of the great flying creatures high above them. Dante felt sincerely glad that his red coat actually acted as a camouflage in the barren, red tinged environment around them.

Every so often Dante would spot a portal sitting atop a hill, and pausing would use his demonic abilities to test for Vergil's presence. Always before he had come up empty, finally though seeing another portal he felt the strong presence of his brother's energy. Unfortunately the portal was surrounded by a rather large group of demons.

"Guess nothings ever easy." He murmured softly.

"Is that where we need to go?" Lady asked, her voice so soft that if it hadn't been for his super hearing he would have never heard her.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"How are we going to take on all those demons?" she asked again, her voice still as soft as previously, though now there was also a slight shake in her voice.

"No worries! I'll take care of it, babe!" He deliberately goaded her, trying to restore her confidence in the only way he knew how; pissing her off.

It worked like a charm. "What! I can take care of myself for your information!" Her voice instantly got stronger with her anger, though she still kept it lowered in a hiss.

"There is no way I'm letting you get yourself killed, cause you're too bloody arrogant to know when to back off!"

Dante chuckled, "Nice to have you back."

Her face fell as she realized what he had done, and then her multi-coloured eyes narrowed bitterly, her small nose scrunching up slightly making the scar on the bridge of her nose a bit more predominant. "You're a jerk." She stated with a hiss, then with some consideration added, "Thanks."

"Your welcome." Dante answered with a smile, turning back to their target. With quick strides he mounted the top of the hill and whistled shrilly, instantly catching the attention of the demons a few hundred yards away. "Hey, over here you morons!"

With grumbles, growls, and shrieks the demons moved in leaps and bounds toward them.

"You know you really are a lunatic." Lady shook her head in displeasure, pulling her guns up and at ready as she waited for the creatures to get within range.

"What?" He asked jokingly, "This way we forgo all that boring sneaking stuff." Pulling Ebony and Ivory from their holsters he aimed and began firing.

Lady only shook her head once more, and joined into the fray.

With the demons baring down on them, Dante suddenly holstered his guns and with a leap pulled Rebellion from its sheath on his back, landing with a skull shattering slash, he set to work on a different set of demons, leaving Lady to fend temporarily for herself.

Spinning his massive broad sword around his body, decapitating all nearby demons, Dante slid the sword back into its sheath. Jumping again, Dante somersaulted mid air, pulling Ebony and Ivory out once more and began rapidly firing. Landing neatly on the body of one demon, he kicked off, using it as a skateboard as he fired into the crowd of demons giving a whoop of glee.

Checking on Lady with a quick glance, as he once more jumped off his 'skateboard' letting it collide with a row of demons instantly toppling them like bowling pins, he found her pull out her Kalina Ann only to send a rocket into the crowd of demons stalking her. Using the resulting explosion, Lady flipped back catching one of her guns that flew toward her and slamming another clip of ammunition into it, swung her prized rocket launcher behind her and once more riddled the demons still standing with bullets.

Satisfied that Lady was still taking care of herself, Dante landed and flipping his pistols into their holsters snatched the shotgun from within his coat and blew the face off the demon he landed in front of. Smirking, he flipped the gun over his shoulder, pulling the trigger to shoot the maw of a spider, intent on driving its fangs into his back, off.

With quick reflexes, he stowed the weapon and ducking, rolled out of the way of the vicious talon tipped legs of the spider as it tried to stab him in anger.

"Uh uh," he waggled a finger at it, and pulling Rebellion out once more, jumped onto the creature's back and stabbed down, lodging his sword just behind the arachnid's head.

The creature screamed and barrelled forward, toppling demons with its deadly legs as it shot to dislodge Dante from its back like some freaky bronco.

Dante simply held on, balancing himself precariously on the spider's fat body. When he had felt that the stupid beast had trampled enough demons and had begun to head in Lady's direction, Dante neatly twisted his blade within the arachnid's body, neatly severing the spine.

Instantly, the spider dropped with a shriek, its legs now useless. Pulling the sword out, Dante flipped it up and brought it down, slicing the spider's head open. Not waiting for the demons to reorganize, he drove forward, slashing and stabbing through anything that stood in his way.

"YOU!" Lady's shriek of pure rage surprised Dante, and he turned toward the sound of her voice to see her go charging through the lesser demons around her, barely paying them any attention as she ran toward a portal that had mysteriously appeared near her.

"Lady, stop!" He shouted, but was forced to jump back, as a scythe narrowly missed his gut. Dealing with the demon before him first, Dante turned in time to see Lady leap into the portal, the portal snapping shut behind her.

"SHIT!"

Reviewer Thanks:

Kez-o the Brave: I'm so glad that you are enjoying this, and thanks for the cookies.

Yodel: Thanks in advance for your loyal reviews. And yes Lady is brave isn't she. She'll be plenty braver in the chapters to come. Promise!

Lady Luce: Thanks for the vote of confidence. By the way I really love the new user name. Literal translation is Lady Light, right?


	5. Unfinished Business

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to DMC. See the chapter 2 disclaimer if you need more info.

Chapter 5: Unfinished Business

Lady knew this place. It was burned into her memory as surly as if it had been branded there. She didn't need to look around to see the numerous bookshelves, stacked neatly in alphabetical order. Nor did she need to look down at the fine wooden floor to see the odd glyphs and runes that were drawn in precise precision to resemble a perfect circle, nor the candles that ringed them. And she certainly didn't need to see that a pool of blood filled the centre of that very circle. Instead she kept her eyes firmly on the dark wooden desk ahead of her, and consequently the figure that sat behind it.

"You're supposed to be dead!" she snarled angrily. "I should know. It was me that put the bullets in your head!"

A soft cruel chuckle filled the room, reverberating off of the shelving around her. "Who said that I wasn't? All good souls go to Hell."

Lady growled, keeping her guns trained on his baldhead. "Then I'll be sure to remedy that!"

"Poor child. You still haven't learned have you?" Eyes that mirrored her own, stared back at her.

"I've learned plenty!"

A bitter smile crossed his thin lips and he rose from behind the desk. "Have you now? Then you know only true power can be found by giving yourself up completely to the darkness."

"That's a load of bullshit! And I'll make sure you eat it!" Lady snarled, and ran forward, neatly jumping over the blood on the floor to land like a cat on the desk, bullets already flying at the form of her father. They struck him neatly in the chest and forehead, but he paid them and her little mind as he walked toward the pool of blood.

Shocked, Lady crouched on top of the desk watching carefully to see what it was he was up to.

He stopped within the pool of blood and stretched out his arms, causing the blood to boil and jump up his legs. Arkham laughed maliciously, as the blood crept higher up his body. "Now see the power that the darkness has gifted me!"

Lady gasped in horror and revulsion as his body suddenly burst apart, reforming into numerous ugly, fat worm like creatures. The worms were thick, nearly the size of an adult human in length, and as fat as someone whom had spent most of their life in front of the TV, eating potato chips. Greyish green in colour, they turned to look at her with tiny black eyes, their mouths gapping open to reveal rows of black razor sharp teeth, emitting vicious high-pitched cries. With more speed than she had thought possible, they snaked toward her.

Firing rapidly, Lady stood and was forced to jump as one of the many worms flung itself up onto the desk, seeking to tear her leg out from under her with its deadly teeth.

Mid air, Lady holstered her guns and flinging Kalina Ann back around her, she pointed the bladed tip down and swiftly impaled the worm still on top of the desk. Gross sticky fluid burst forth from its obese body, covering her pants as she planted her feet firmly on either side of the body.

Barely even being given time to insure that the creature was dead, Lady pulled her trusty weapon from its bowels and pointed it toward the ceiling, firing the grappling hook as the other worms jumped up onto the desk.

As she was pulled to safety, one of the beasties managed to sink its teeth into her pants, tearing the leather as well as her flesh.

With her blood now dripping slowly from her leg, the mass of creatures withered around under her, desperately trying to locate every last drop. Disgusted, Lady pulled out her semi-automatic from a holster beneath her arm and fired into the mass.

Each bullet found its mark in a bulbous body of a worm, spraying up more of the foul smelling fluids. Hideous screams emitted from the wounded creatures, as they set upon each other and yet still maintained their pursuit of her blood.

There was a resounding click, and without hesitation the raven-haired huntress discharged the empty clip into the maw of a worm, then sliding the butt end of her weapon against one of her belts, snapped another cartridge of ammo into the gun.

Releasing another flurry of bullets into the slowly dwindling masses, Lady was just about to declare victory when what was left of the ugly demons suddenly moved back toward the centre of the room. Lady gasped and muttered a "My God!" only to have Dante's words come back to haunt her, _Nope, sorry, God doesn't live here, _as she watched the worms swarm together, coalescing into something that looked vaguely like a slimy mass of gelatine. Large tentacles spread from the jell-o, flattening bookshelves and the desk in an effort to make room for the huge apparition that had once been her father.

One tentacle made a swipe for her and Lady's muscles strained as she was forced to pull the weight of her body up by one arm to avoid the nasty tentacle.

Cruel laughter echoed around her, and two eyes materialized within a portion of the blob to look up at her. "Silly girl. Did you think you could win?"

Azure and crimson eyes narrowed hatefully, and glancing up, Lady did the only thing she could. Simultaneously releasing the grappling hook and firing a rocket, gravity took a hold of Lady's body even as the force of the explosion at the ceiling sped the descent.

Curling herself to prevent serious injury, Lady began rolling the second she hit the ground. Once she felt herself safe of the falling ceiling, the huntress hand sprung into a standing position. Ducking to avoid a flailing tentacle, Lady smirked as the ceiling collapsed in chunks on top of the greyish green blob.

Her victory was sort lived though, as the jell-oish substance of her father's current form, oozed out from beneath the masses of plaster and cement, the tentacles helping to toss aside the rest. Gapping in terror, Lady pulled both semi-automatics from their holsters and immediately began firing; back peddling and ducking as she did, to avoid the thick tentacles now snaking for her.

Holstering both weapons suddenly Lady whirled Kalina Ann around and shot a rocket straight into the blob.

The gelatinous blob encompassed its form around the rocket, smothering it and preventing an explosion, causing Lady to cry out in despair.

Before she could recover, a tentacle caught a hold of her waist in its slimy gasp and lifting her up, slammed her hard against the ground.

Lady groaned in pain, the tentacle unwrapping from around her waist to leave her prone body on the wooden floor.

Sludgy noises of the creature's movements grew closer, and Lady lifted her head to look up at the numerous tentacles now waving slowly above her, like a bunch of cobras waiting to strike.

"Pathetic!"

That single word caused a short chain of reaction as Lady closed her eyes and remembered that same word being uttered from a different adversary.

_-----------------_

_"Pathetic!"_

The huntress had lifted her tear stained face from off her knees, her hand reaching for the gun that lay beside her at the sound of the voice.

Eyes that mirrored the clearest sky on the coldest day of winter were the first thing she was to see emerge from the darkness of the ancient library's shadows.

"If this is the extent of a human's vengeance than it is a wonder that humans ever get to taste revenge."

Her fingers closed about the gun and slowly, with one hand on the bookcase behind her for support, Lady pulled herself up into a standing position as Vergil emerged completely from the darkness. She wasn't going to allow him to kill her without some sort of a fight.

_"What would you know?"_ She asked, though it was a question formed from the last reserves of her spite.

Rich, loud laughter reverberated off of the old walls, and bookshelves. "_Plenty."_

She lifted her gun, pointing it at his statuestic face.

His laughter ceased as he watched her, no emotion passing over his handsome face. _"Do you intend to try and shoot me?" _His question was one of mockery, filled with contempt.

Lady sighed, what was the use? She lowered her weapon, but kept her odd eyes focused on his. _"Just leave me be."_

His face softened taking on a considerate look, though there was still an edge of cunning in his frosty eyes. _"I find it funny that you, who were so able to climb this tower, so eager to duel against me, now only a few floors from your goal are willing to give up. What a wretched creature you are."_

Lady frowned, anger building deep in her heart at his comments. What was he up to? What did he want from her? Why couldn't he just leave? And was that admiration she had heard in his voice? _"I'm not strong enough to finish it. Your brother…"_

_"My brother is a fool."_

_"Well, so far it seems like he's the only one capable of stopping my father." _She hissed in aggravation.

Another snort and Lady rushed to cut him off. _"You worked closely with him and still you couldn't see that he was manipulating you!"_

Frigid eyes narrowed dangerously, and he stepped closer, slight anger marring his cold marble features. _"And what of you, Dear Lady?"_ He hissed bitterly, _"he led you just as eagerly into his trap!"_

Lady's eyes narrowed, fire bursting in their depths at the memory of how her father had still managed to use her, even after all he'd done. She raised her gun pointing it back at his immaculate forehead, even if only for satisfaction sake. And then suddenly, as if Vergil had thrown a bucket of ice-cold water on her, she realized what it was he was doing, deliberately goading her and manipulating her into ascending the final floors.

She lowered the gun once more and Vergil sneered, _"Silly girl! Perhaps my foolish brother is right and you should simply go home."_

With that he turned and walked with long strides in the direction his twin had taken not even an hour previous.

Lady watched his back for a moment. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right, she was so close to achieving her goal, and here she was pouting in a cold, dark, damp library. Sudden righteous anger at her father for putting her in this position, anger at Dante for showing her of her weaknesses, at his twin Vergil for deeming to tell her of her own flaws and finally at herself for allowing all these men to manipulate and walk all over her.

_"Wait!"_ She ran after him, mindless of her tired body and its wounds.

Vergil stopped with his hand on the door, his head turning so that he could watch her over his shoulder. _"If you are looking for a fight it would hardly be honourable on my part to allow such a battle."_

_"I'm not looking to kill you just yet, demon." _She hissed in contempt, more angry with herself than at him for the moment.

_"Then what is it that you want? My time is pressing!" _He turned, his coat swirling about his ankles, to face her fully.

"Take me with you."

A chuckle. _"Why would I want to do something as ridicules as that?"_

_"You're going to help your brother, right?"_ She asked, although it was a question she already knew the answer to.

_"In a manner of speaking." _He watched her once more with that contemplative look.

_"Then you'll need to preserve your strength."_ She wondered thoughtfully what she was actually doing in trying to deal with this blue-coated devil.

_"I am quite capable of dealing with anything thrown in my direction."_

_"Really? Like when my father tossed you off the tower?" _It was her turn to goad him, and it renewed her sense of confidence and power.

His eyes narrowed swiftly obviously not used and not very appreciative of having the tables turned on him.

"Take me with you, and I'll deal with all the lesser demons for you."

His lips pursed, and with a soft sigh he turned his back once more on her, the smallest smirk pulling at his lips. _"Do as you wish. I will not stop you."_

Lady smirked, and holding her gun at ready, fallowed Vergil into the room beyond. Perhaps there was more to the sons of Sparda then just their demon blood.

_-----------------_

Even in remembrance Lady felt the fuel of her anger at Vergil's words rise. And in turn, it rekindled her courage and drive to never give up.

Opening her eyes, Lady met the beady eyes of her father. Pulling herself first to her knees and then to her feet, her eyes glinted maliciously, as she bravely faced her fears.

"How can you hope to kill something that is already dead?" The gelatinous creature spat, its mouth opening to reveal a deep pit lined with ringed muscles. "I will enjoy feasting on your flesh, Mary. Just as I did your mother!"

Lady smirked, "Well, since you seem to have loved the taste of my mother…" she spun the rocket launcher in her hands pointing it into the maw of the beast. "Why don't you have another bite!"

Her father screamed as she pulled the trigger on her Kalina Ann. Before the demon could close its mouth the rocket entered into the wide-open orifice, instantly being swallowed.

Lady's sadistic grin grew, as the blob screamed again, this time its body moved outward with the explosion deep within its body and then burst out altogether.

Not even bothering to cover herself, Lady stood smiling, her trusted rocket launcher in her hands, as it rained slimy goop all over what remained of her father's study.

"Thanks Vergil." She murmured into the air.

Reviewer Thanks:

Lady Luce: Thanks so much for your compliments. I don't usually get ones that are so specific. Mostly everyone just says they love my story. So thank you very much! And I love comic relief in a story. Being serious is all right, but all the time just gets kinda boring.

As for the Hell thing… I tried to take some idea from the game and mix them with my own personal views on Hell. Or at least the ones that other people might also find acceptable. Hell to me has got to be an extremely boring place. Could you imagine complete nothingness for all of eternity? I would go insane with boredom. But seeing as how that doesn't go well with the story, I came up with this.

Once again thank you so much for your kind words. I hope I don't disappoint in fallowing chapters. Hope to hear from you soon!

Kez-o the Brave: Yummy… I love chocolate! But… um… What kinda language were you typing in? If you don't mind my asking?

The Lex and Terry Listener: I'll keep that in mind if I need help. But I think I've got it covered. I might not have a twin, but I do have a sister, so I know at least about the ways of siblings. And thanks a bunch for your review!

Yodel: Hmmm… I think maybe you're a bit psychic. It seems your reading my mind. As for a Lady/Vergil pairing… You bet! And thanks! I love writing action scenes, although sometimes I think they are a bit corny and that I'm not expressing all the moves right… Anyway, how did you like Vergil in this chapter? Next chapter Dante and Lady will find out what's happened to our dear Vergil!

MazdaKitsune: Yup, Dante's in shit now! Good thing Lady can hold her own.

Frost (): Dude! Thanks for your review!


	6. Vergil’s Fate

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to DMC. See the chapter 2 disclaimer if you need more info.

Warning: This chapter contains… blood, gore, mild language and suggestive scenes. Reader discretion is advised. So don't get mad at me. Please enjoy anyway!

Chapter 6: Vergil's Fate

Rebellion's shining blade flashed as it was repeatedly stabbed and slashed at anything in its path. Dante was livid with rage and unfortunately for the demons around him, they became the perfect vent for his frustrations.

He should have never let her come. Maybe if he had just been a little more stubborn or a little less selfish, she'd be all right. Next time he was going to just tie her to a chair and leave her in the office. That was… 'if' there was ever a next time.

That last thought was angrily stomped on and it reflected in Rebellion's moves as the large blade came crashing down on the head of a demon only to split the entire monstrosity in twain.

It wasn't that he didn't trust in her ability to take care of herself, nor in her ability to kill demons. But this was Hell, god damnit! And she was still, for lack of better words, just human. Though if it had been Trish or Lucia, he doubted he would be acting any differently.

Screw Vergil! There was no way he was going to leave Lady here. Not even if he had to tear the whole of Hell up, tip it over and shake it out before he found her, he was NOT leaving her here!

Slicing the heads off the last demons, Dante contemplated retrieving Vergil first. Maybe, Vergil wouldn't be in such a bad shape, and then they could work together, find Lady and get the heck out.

Dante shook his head, who was he kidding? Since when did Vergil ever want to help out? Even if he wasn't hurt.

A gunshot sounded out behind Dante, startling him so much that he whipped around, Rebellion still in hand to face the new threat.

Red and blue eyes met his, twinkling with… amusement? Dante felt like all feeling had just left his body and all he could do was just stand there and stare at her completely dumbfounded.

"You missed one." She stated a smirk playing across her features.

Feeling suddenly giddy with relief, Dante moved to pull her into a hug but was stopped by her outstretched hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Frowning, Dante stepped back and looked her over critically. She was covered head to toe in slimy blue coloured, foul smelling goop. Suddenly Dante felt very glad she had stopped him, if he could get out of Hell without get full of something gross he was all for it. The dry cleaning bill could really be hell sometimes.

"What happened?" He asked, completely baffled by her appearance. Then seeing the nasty wound just above her knee that had ripped down her pants completely but had left her boot intact, he frowned grumpily. "I thought I told you to stay close?"

Lifting a slender dark eyebrow, she asked, "Were you worried?"

"Damn, straight! So don't you ever do that again!" he growled, now feeling like throttling her for being so inconsiderate of his feelings. He had the mind to just grab her up, slime or no slime, and haul her ass straight out of Hell. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he looked at her bedraggled form once more. "So…?"

"Unfinished family matters." She stated with a nonchalant wave of her hand, before striding past him toward the portal.

His frown deepening, he turned and watched her. "I thought we took care of 'your' family business a long time ago?"

She shrugged her shoulders, studying the portal before her and answered. "Funny how things just pop up around here."

Dante sighed and pulled a gloved hand through his white hair only to have it fall back into his face once more. "Yeah, it's got a habit of doing that around here."

"This is the one?" Lady turned slightly toward him, gesturing to the portal before her.

If it weren't for the slime, Dante would have been more than appreciative of the way Lady's clothes were currently clinging to her lithe body. "Yeah."

"Then lets go get Vergil before more demons come out of the wood works."

He nodded and stepped forward to her side. Before he stepped through, there was one more thing he wanted to know from the huntress. "Why do you want to help Vergil out?"

She bowed her head a moment, a gloved hand passing through her slick hair, only to be pulled back out and looked at in disgust. "I owe him." She stated softly.

Dante figured as much. Lady had learned a lot about devils and half devils since Temen-ni-gru, but no matter what… Lady always repaid her debts.

Nodding, Dante let her be and jumped forward, followed shortly by Lady.

Lady couldn't help but be stunned, as she looked around the area or rather room that they had jumped into.

Gaudily coloured pillows were pilled high around the room. Beautiful women of all sorts lounged around on top of them, making it seem as if she and Dante had jumped into some foreign harem. Some of the women were scantily clad in thin sheer materials, but for the most part they wore nothing at all.

Disgusted, Lady's gaze traveled toward the centre of the room where a table in laid with exotic fruits, wines and other delectable delicacies, stood. The table and a raised dais behind the table were the only portions of the room not cluttered by the pillows.

The raised dais was another matter for inspection all together though. At the centre of the dais stood a gruesomely crafted throne. Skulls and bones of creatures Lady hadn't even heard of much less seen, adorned the arm rests, high back and legs of the throne. But perhaps it was fitting, for the figure that sat within the throne's confines was only more dreadful to behold; Vergil sat in a mockery of his former glory.

Lady gasped softly, her eyes widening at the sight of him. His once fine clothes were in taters, his silk shirt having taken the brunt of the damage for all that was left hung in ragged strips from his shoulders, leaving his well-muscled chest bare. Though Lady couldn't even admire the finely sculptured muscles for her gaze was focused on the hilt of his prized possession. Yamato was driven straight through its master's chest, so that all that was visible of the massive sword was its hilt. Undoubtedly, it was also the only thing keeping Vergil from falling out of his seat, as his body was slumped around it, his head lolling against a corner.

Blood trickled slowly down from the hideous wound, forming a small pool of blood at Vergil's feet. More blood dripped into the pool from the arm rests of the throne where Vergil's arms had been irrevocable bound by what appeared to be barbed wire. But Vergil's face was perhaps the most fearful change in the once proud warrior. His white hair was matted into a style that in some places attempted to remain in the preferred soft spikes, but for the most part had fallen down to resemble Dante's mop. His face was completely devoid of emotion, and his stern arrogant mask had fallen away making him seem if anything, tired and haunted. But there was nothing within Hell or without that could have prepared Lady for the look of his eyes.

A shiver traced its way through her body as she looked into eyes that had once been so blue that they could have rivalled the sky, now they mirrored the grey of the overcast sky. And just like his face, they were filled with nothing.

To make matters worse, two of the women were pawing over him with little care for his condition. The one had her head buried in his lap making soft lapping and sucking noises, giving Lady a good idea of what she was up to. The second, a tall, blond woman dressed in a sheer dark blue dress that left little to the imagination, ran her fingers lightly over Vergil's chest, careful to not touch any where near the grisly wound. Her lips were moving lightly against his chin, neck and cheek, whispering sweetly to him, despite the lack of reaction.

Lady shuddered at Vergil's torture, and looking up at Dante standing beside her, she knew he was just as horrified as she. His normal cocky and jovial face had fallen into such a look of deep and profound sadness that Lady reached out and squeezed his hand in hers.

The action seemed to wake him from his thoughts for he looked down at her, returning the squeeze. "Maybe Trish was right. Maybe there is nothing left to save." The hurt in his soft voice was such that Lady felt like throwing her arms around him and holding him tight, before complying and taking him from this horror.

A soft gasp had Lady turning back to Vergil. The succubus at his side had bitten into the soft tissue of his neck and was currently having her fill of his warm blood.

His eyes glazed, and his mouth hung open in a slight 'o', but beyond that, just as before there was little reaction.

Sudden vicious anger flooded into Lady's blood, as she realized why he hadn't been able to free himself, as well as why he hadn't healed his wounds. The women, the vampiric sluts were keeping him weak and powerless to their charms.

"No," Lady spoke looking back up at Dante. "We've come this far, we are not going home empty handed." She stated, anger and conviction giving her voice strength. "Besides I think Nevan has more class."

That got a grin out of the red coated half-demon. "That's cause she's all about the rock."

Happy to have some semblance of the cocky devil hunter back, Lady strode forward raising her gun as she did and pointed it straight at the blonde demon. "Get off of him!" she snarled, ruby and sapphire eyes flashing fire.

The blonde lifted her head, blood dripping from her lips, and stared back at Lady. Flicking her tongue out to catch the blood drops before they could fall to the floor, the demon frowned angrily. "Human scum. You are not welcome here."

Her hand still lingered on Vergil's chest, and the second succubus hadn't even lifted her head.

"I'm not going to say it again." Lady hissed dangerously, catching the attention of the remaining succubae around the room.

"The Lady's right! I think its time you took your party else where." Dante's voice though not holding its normal cocky ring, gave Lady a heightened sense of confidence.

The succubus chuckled, and Lady didn't wait any longer. Dropping the gun by a fraction, she pulled the trigger, the bullet slamming into the skull of the whore still in Vergil's lap. The demoness groaned and slid to the floor at Vergil's feet.

Smirking, Lady trained her weapon on the blonde once more and waited.

"You!" The blonde snarled, revealing her still bloodied fangs. "You will pay for that human!"

"Bring it!"

The vampiric women were up in seconds and both Lady and Dante moved back-to-back, firing rapidly at the infuriated demonic women.

"Was this your plan?" Dante asked, his arms moving to riddle the closest demoness with holes.

"Not really." Lady answered, concentrating on killing the succubus' before her and making sure no stray bullets went in Vergil's direction.

"I'd hate to know what it was then."

"I was doing it your way for once." Lady stated simply.

"That being?"

"Make it up as I go."

"Ah."

One demoness dove beneath the table, and Lady felt as Dante moved away from her, pulling his sword out as he did and cut the table legs with one quick stroke. Lady paid him little attention thereafter, as she caught sight of the blonde, who was now seated on Vergil's lap, looking all the more like the throne was designed to complement her and not its current occupant.

The demoness' red eyes bored into Lady's, as Lady fought her way toward the woman.

"I admire a woman of strength." The succubus stated, when Lady was close enough. "A pity you are only mortal."

Lady jumped up onto the dais, her guns at ready, but she dared not shoot with Vergil straight behind the demoness. Then with a thought, she holstered them, pulling her gloved hands into fists and rocked back into a fighter's stance. "Come on." She taunted the woman, waving one hand slowly.

Full lips parted into a wide smile, "This should be fun." The blonde stood, her lithe long legs stepping over the body of her comrade.

Lady didn't hesitate; the moment the woman was within range she flung her booted foot out, kicking the demon hard in the face with a round house. The blonde gasped but didn't go down and ducked Lady's next kick. Instead with quickness only born of a demon, she caught Lady's leg as it passed above her and sank her long nails into the flesh and then flung Lady into a pile of pillows.

Thankful for the soft landing, but not thankful for the unstable footing, Lady attempted to right herself, increasingly growing agitated at her failed attempts with the demoness' steady approach.

"Foolish human. You can not defeat one such as me." The blonde hissed, and leapt.

Giving up on getting out of the pillows, Lady pulled out her guns and began firing into the body of the leaping demon.

The demoness laughed harshly and descended on Lady, who pulled her arms in front of her face to shield it from the demoness' raking nails.

Perhaps it was just great luck or perhaps Lady was endowed with a guardian angel, but the demoness was suddenly yanked off Lady by her hair. Dante's voice followed in short order. "As much as I love a good cat fight… I hardly think this one is fair."

The demoness tried to claw at Dante in her fury, but all she ended up with was Rebellion planted firmly through her chest. She gasped in both pain and anger, but Dante put an end to that in an instant as he deftly twisted and then extracted Rebellion's blade in a dark shower of blood.

"Serves you right." Dante growled, dropping the now limp body to the ground.

Lady breathed heavily, moving her injured arms away from her face. "You alright?" Dante asked offering her his hand.

"Yeah," Lady answered, slapping her hand into his, she was pulled to her feet.

Surveying the room, Lady watched detachedly as the bodies of the numerous demonic women slowly disintegrated into dust. Picking her way carefully through the pillows, Lady made her way back toward Vergil and then stood studying him for a few moments, debating on what to do next.

Dante made his way to stand next to her, also contemplating what to do. "Seems like Vergil wasn't having much fun at his party." He murmured softly, despite his words there was no humour to his voice.

Lady didn't comment, instead she tore the tattered remnants of her blouse's sleeve off her forearm, and then pressed the cloth tightly to the two holes still leaking blood from Vergil's neck.

No recognition, or even movement of Vergil's eyes, let Lady know that he was even the slightest aware of her presence. Instead it seemed as if he were far off, trapped some where within his own mind.

Lady watched him silently; her fingers pressing the cloth against the wound felt his sluggish heart beat, as if even his blood was unwilling to move around his body. Vergil had been able to pull her out of her slump when she had needed it most, now how would she be able to return the favour when he was at his lowest.

Dante's hand waving before his brother's face distracted Lady from her thoughts and she hastily tied the supplemented bandage around his neck like a scarf.

"Earth to Vergil?" Dante spoke, bending to look his brother in the eye, obviously reluctant to touch his twin. He straightened after a moment and shook his head sadly.

"Move," Lady ordered, shoving Dante out of the way to resume her work on Vergil. As far as she was concerned they had already spent too much time in Hell. Frowning at Vergil's indecent exposure, she quickly reached down and pulled his pants closed, gaining a chuckle from Dante.

"You're such a prude." Dante teased gently.

Pointedly ignoring his comment and focusing on her next task, Lady wrapped her hands tightly around Yamato's hilt and pulled.

The scream that tore its way out of Vergil's lungs was so terrifying and so unexpected that Lady actually released her hold on the sword and jumped back, consequently jumping into Dante, who easily steadied her. "Easy, now. I don't think he'll bite."

Angrily pushing herself away from him, Lady considered Vergil for a moment before reaching for the sword once more.

Stormy eyes shifted toward her, holding her gaze with their pain. "I'm sorry Vergil," she whispered "but I have to do this."

His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, as he tried to form words.

"We'll do it together." Dante's voice spoke softly from behind Lady as he too placed his hands on Yamato's long hilt.

Feeling a bit more confident with Dante's strong body behind her, Lady wrenched her gaze from Vergil's and concentrated on the sword sticking through his chest.

"No," Vergil finally was able to speak, though his voice was soft and horse from disuse. "Leave me." He pleaded.

"Sorry bro. But not this time." Dante told his twin, before ordering to Lady, "Pull!"

Putting her boot against Vergil's throne, in between his legs, Lady pulled for all she was worth. Again Vergil screamed in complete and utter agony, though this time Lady only grit her teeth and pulled harder.

The katana suddenly slipped from its master's chest with a pop, sending both Dante and Lady to the floor.

Yamato gripped in her hands, Lady slowly picked herself up off of the patiently waiting Dante, and looked over Vergil's now slumped over form. His breathing was heavy, and she could see the blood pouring out from beneath his chest, as well as the blood bubbling out of the exit wound at his back.

Dante swore and Lady had the privilege of seeing one of his magic tricks as he moved back toward the table and swept the table cloth out from under all the food and drinks, leaving it all undisturbed.

Looking around for Yamato's sheath, she found it tossed on the ground beside the throne, stained in just about as much blood as the sword itself was. Picking it up she prepared to sheath it, but was stopped by Dante as he returned to wrap the tablecloth tightly about his twin's chest and back.

"You'd better wipe some of that blood off before you sheath it, otherwise he'll be mad." Dante said, sparing her a quick glance before he returned to binding his brother's grievous wounds.

Lady looked down at the blade that had once gleamed in polished delight, but was now so caked in blood that it would nearly need to be chiselled off. "We don't have time." Lady replied sheathing the weapon in one clean stroke. "I'll clean it myself when we get home. And besides he's hardly in any condition to argue. Is he…?"

"Unconscious." Dante replied, tying the cloth off. Already blood was staining it, and Dante shook his head grimly, his white hair flipping out of his eyes for half a second. "Damn bitches." He muttered.

"Probably best that way for all of us." Lady replied, looking around for a short piece of rope. Finding something suitable, she tied each end to the opposite ends of Yamato and then slung the sword over her back next to Kalina Ann.

Meanwhile Dante had unsheathed Rebellion once more and stood to the side of his brother, holding his sword like a bat. A quick downward strike and Rebellion severed the wire still holding Vergil's arms down.

Lady didn't wait for instructions as Dante moved to the other side. Instead she pulled the remainder of Vergil's shirt from his shoulders and tearing the rag into two equal sized pieces, she set to work plucking the barbs from his flesh and then wrapping his forearm to help slow the bleeding from the ghastly gashes. Once the wires had been severed on Vergil's other arm, Dante sheathed his sword and set to work, taking care of the other arm.

When they were both finally through, Dante picked his twin easily up and hoisted him over his shoulder, leaving him to dangle in a very undignified manner.

"You sure you'll be alright with him?" Lady asked, pulling her guns from their holsters and after insuring that they were fully loaded with ammunition, held them tightly within her gloved grasp, knowing already the enormity of the role she was about to play.

"Sure!" Dante grinned like an adult that had finally found his favourite childhood stuffed animal. "Seems they didn't feed him much around here. I'll have to take the extreme lack of good service up with Mundus at some point. Just not today." He chuckled and patted his brother's butt. "Don't worry about us. Just keep moving." He finished sternly.

Lady snorted, "I told you before we left, Dante. There's no way I'm going to allow you to end up a permanent resident in this hellhole. We stick together, and that's final."

Dante smiled, "You and me, babe! Lets jet this joint!"

With that they jumped back through the portal that had brought them into Vergil's prison.

Reviewer Thanks:

BladeMaster16: I think I like updating once a week. Usually Thursdays or Fridays. That way everyone has a week to read and review if they choose. And I'm very glad that you are finding my story so enjoyable.

Lady Luce: Thank you muchly! Though, Lady can't always shoot everyone in the head. She does it really only to Dante to kick-start his brain.

I'm glad you liked my last fight scene and hoped you enjoyed this chapter's fights just as much. My beta said much the same thing about the worms though. As for Dante finding Lady… how did you like Lady finding Dante?

The Lex and Terry Listener: Thank you! My beta was totally creped out and disgusted by the last chapter too. Didn't know I could write that well to inspire something like that. Hmm… I'll do my best to keep it up.

Yodel: Our dear Vergil can't always be all nastiness, you know. We wouldn't love him as much as we do, if he was like that.

IceCamaro: No need to thank me. I like getting my story ideas out of my head and out where others can appreciate them if they so choose. I tried to keep Vergil in character as much as possible. I don't much like stories where he is more like an OC. And you have no idea how long it took me to figure out how to tie the flashbacks into the chapters without putting a major break into it.

Frost (): Yes, I was quite happy with that scene as well. So what did you think of this one?

MazdaKitsune: There will be another Vergil flashback coming in the next couple of chapters. So if you liked that one, then there is something for you to look forward to. As for Lady, I think she's got her hands full trying to figure out how to return his original favour now.

Kez-o the Brave: Yes, I love chocolate! It is one of my favourite things to snack on. What's even better is that when you are really tired, Dark Chocolate works like a pot of coffee. And seeing as how I hate coffee and love chocolate, it works out.

Hmmm… Swedish! That is so cool. If I ever need to do a Swedish accent, I now know someone to ask about it. Cool!

LordxxAxelxxLover: I'm very happy that you love this story thus far! Oh, look they found Vergil! Impressed?


	7. Homestretch

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to DMC. See the chapter 2 disclaimer if you need more info.

Chapter 7: Homestretch

Dante knew the moment that they entered back out onto the plains that the way home was going to be one gruelling long battle. Already demons were making their way in droves toward the gate that they currently stood at. Above, one of the dragon-like creatures screamed hideously, alerting its brethren to their position.

"Fight only what you have to and leave the rest!" Dante ordered, and Lady who was already running forward paused to glare back at him in a look that clearly stated that he was only telling her something she had already long thought of.

Cringing at the look, Dante charged after her, thanking the lighter load of his brother's body.

Lady's guns blazed as she ran toward the oncoming demons, barely even pausing in stride she suddenly holstered both guns in her hands and swivelling her rocket launcher around, she fired and let the launcher slide back into place, pulling her guns out once more before the demons could even register the explosion that had just taken place in their midst.

Unsheathing Rebellion, he tossed the blade like a boomerang clearing more of the way in front of Lady before forcing her to duck as it whirled back toward Dante's waiting hand.

A deep inhalation of breath had both hunters glancing up wards to see one of the flying demons diving toward Lady.

"Get down!" Dante shouted needlessly to Lady, before flinging Rebellion out once more.

The beast screamed in pain and unfurling its large wings, checked its dive while its forelegs clawed desperately at the blade embedded within its neck.

Dante didn't bother summoning Rebellion for the moment; instead he left the blade to occupy the flying demon and pulled Ebony from its holster fired back into the crowd of demons.

Finally what felt like miles later, Lady and Dante ran up the hill that Dante had marked previously to remember their exit.

Lady turned and began firing once more into the demons heading up toward them. "What are you waiting for?" Dante yelled at her, the woman was really going to get herself killed yet!

"There's no way I'm jumping into there without holding on to your hand!"

Confused for a moment, Dante could have smacked himself in the head at having forgotten the pitch-black room that they would have to jump back into.

Holstering Ebony, he turned and seeing the dragon-like creature still flailing about in the sky in its effort to dislodge his weapon, Dante summoned Rebellion.

Immediately the sword pulled itself from the flesh of the demon and hurtled back toward its master, only to be caught and sheathed in one fluid movement. With all his weapons firmly in place, Dante grabbed Lady's arm and practically hauled her into the next portal.

Darkness engulfed them in seconds, causing Lady to swear horrendously. Dante looked around himself, his demonic sight allowing him to make out the walls and the demons within the black area in soft pink glows.

Pulling Lady around in front of him, she gave an indigent huff at being manhandled, and told her softly his plan. "Step up onto my boots."

"What? How the heck…"

"Just do it." He growled impatiently. When she complied, he placed one of her hands on Vergil's hip and gave her the next set of instructions. "I'm going to need you to keep him steady."

"Alright." She murmured and Dante could feel her grasp tighten on his twin.

"Now, with your other arm, just keep shooting behind me. I'll do the rest."

Dante felt her other arm slide against his side, and without further ado he pulled Ebony and Ivory from their holsters and started firing.

The way was long and tedious as Dante had to be careful that he lost neither Lady nor Vergil, and still managed for the most part to kill any and all demons in his path. Every so often he would hear a resounding click as Lady's gun emptied of bullets, somehow, that he wasn't even sure was possible, she quickly reloaded the weapon and then continued firing in waves behind his back. Many curses and what felt like hours later, Dante was finally able to make out the faint glimmer of the portal. He couldn't have been more ecstatic to resume normal walking procedure.

"We're here!" He announced happily. "The homestretch awaits!"

Lady didn't wait for instructions, instead she stopped firing, stepped off his boots and when his hand once more had a solid grip on Vergil, she turned and jumped through.

Fallowing Lady, Dante was forced to stop and allow his eyes to adjust to the brilliant white light on the other side. When he could see again, he noticed the very large problem standing in their way.

"Damn it, why is it that when you just think your in the clear, something is always ready to kick you in the ass." Lady grumbled.

Dante shook his head, "You said it." He observed the large demonic version of a sphinx.

Just like the ancient Egyptian statue, this sphinx had the head of human and the body of a lion. But unlike the statue, this sphinx was a great deal more dangerous.

Large white paws, complete with big black claws, were planted firmly on one of the large boulders spanning the space between the portals. Its long tawny tail, tipped with fire instead of longer hair, waved through the air behind it much like any cat that was intent on prey. The face was like that of a middle aged man, the black goatee that jutted from his chin curled up nearly to the lion's chest. The golden Egyptian headdress supplemented the lion's mane, dangling around the human's face, making it seem even more out of place.

"YOU MORTALS CANNOT RUN FROM THE MASTER'S WRATH!" The sphinx growled out revealing long sharp white fangs.

"Its always the same." Dante sighed, really Mundus should teach his underlings some new vocabulary.

"Give me Vergil." Lady said suddenly, startling Dante.

"What?"

"I'm almost out of ammo, and there is no way I can take that thing even on a good day. You can't fight with Vergil on your back, so I'll carry him." She explained, catching sight of his bewildered expression.

"Are you sure?" He looked down at her slight form. She was clearly exhausted, not to mention injured. Small cuts, gashes and bruises covered any visible skin and even some that wasn't; her clothes being torn in numerous places, but still able to hide the majority of her injuries from view. Despite all of this though she was still standing with her shoulders squared back in determination, and her eyes burning with stubbornness.

"We don't really have any other choice." She said and then removing Kalina Ann from her back, she held it out for him to take.

Dante accepted the weapon; of course she had to be right. "He's still kinda heavy. You could always just wait for me here." He suggested hopefully.

Lady's eyes narrowed at his silent insinuation, "I can handle it."

Dante shook his head for the millionth time at her stubbornness and then carefully laid his brother over her shoulders.

Lady bowed slightly under Vergil's weight, but beyond a soft grunt said little. Placing one hand on Vergil's arm and the other holding tightly to his leg, Lady steadied herself and then with a short nod of her head in the direction of the sphinx, said, "Go clear the road will you!"

Dante chuckled; he would simply have to trust her, as he had so many times before. "Pleasure."

Jumping toward the big cat and yet to the side of it, hoping that it would take the bait and give Lady the clearance she needed to get past the creature, Dante shouted at the hybrid beast. "Hey! I thought you weren't supposed to have a nose!"

"WHAT? YOU INSULENT MAGOT! HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!" The creature hissed and leapt forward to another boulder just in front of Dante.

Laying Kalina Ann on his shoulder in a relaxed position, Dante shook his head. "You have no idea how many times big suckers like you call me dumb little names like that. After the first few ass kicking's you'd think I could be afforded a little more respect! Guess you dumb heads will just never learn."

The sphinx hissed angrily and swept out a paw that Dante easily dodged, firing a rocket into its ugly face. The explosion had the big cat snarling in pain, and giving Dante a second to glance in Lady's direction to see that she was already making her way across.

A smile graced his lips, as he knew she'd be all right, and without further thought to her or his brother, put all his effort into teaching this kitty some manners.

The moment the sphinx jumped after Dante, Lady hitched Vergil higher on her shoulders and marched forward, the boulders as before moving to form her a nice even road.

Gritting her teeth against the painful protests of her back and shoulders, Lady stubbornly refused to even pause. Initially she hadn't thought he would be so heavy, since, even though his demon blood hadn't allowed his muscles to deteriorate the way a humans would have, he was still terribly thin.

The moment she reached the portal though, she allowed Vergil's and her own body to sag to the ground. Laying Vergil on his side, she looked over him once more in concern. His breath came in ragged gasps and blood had soaked clean through all of his makeshift bandages. Lady wondered slightly if they weren't just saving him from Hell only to have him die in the human world, his soul irrevocably returning to the underworld.

Standing and stretching to ease the ache in her back, Lady glanced back the way she had come, locating Dante, only to see the lunatic land a few hundred feet away from the monster, and taunt it with a wave of his hand. "Here Kitty, kitty!"

The sphinx was wounded and pissed, its one eye bleeding heavily blinding it. The rest of its face was nearly black from a resulting explosion of one of her rockets; in fact the beard was still on fire. Cuts and slashes decorated the rest of its body, while Dante looked for the most part untouched.

A groan behind her had Lady swivelling her head toward Vergil, Dante's battle with the sphinx forgotten.

Pale eyelids fluttered over grey eyes, and Lady was instantly on her knees. "Vergil?" she asked, amazed that he was even conscious.

Blood stained lips parted and those horridly grey eyes met hers. "Leave me."

It was a desperate plea that would have broken most anyone's heart, but Lady steeled herself against it, instead she brushed his hair back with her hand tenderly as a shiver shook through his body. "We're not leaving you this time." She spoke softly.

His fingers clenched ever so slightly, and Lady slid her own fingers in under them so that he might hold them. "Please," again his voice came out as a barely audible whisper. "I don't belong…" the rest was lost as his eyes closed with pain and his body shook with a violent tremor.

It didn't matter, Lady knew what it was he wanted and she shook her head stubbornly. "No, Vergil. You don't belong here either."

Suddenly his eyes widened in fear, as he stared past her, his fingers tightening their grip on hers. "No, not again."

Lady moved instantly, letting go of Vergil's hand, she rolled and kicked sharply out at whatever had been behind her. Pulling her guns out, she began firing even before she had the figure completely in focus.

Hideous, sadistic laughter that even after six years haunted her nightmares, sounded out around her.

Ejecting the empty clips from her guns, Lady quickly slammed new ones in and aiming pulled the triggers once more, as the same sadistic laughter echoed throughout the whole area.

"Why won't you just die!" Lady screamed in pure and undiluted rage, at the purple form of her father's alter ego, Jester.

"Why Mary, I thought you'd be just tickled to see me? It's been so long! I'm just dieing to catch up!" Jester laughed again, sitting atop the portal now.

"SHUT UP!" Lady fired again and again, each time expending her precious bullets as the purple clothed freak simply hopped around, to and fro, as if enjoying a new game.

Lady didn't realise it until too late that in her rage Jester had actually succeeded in leading her away from Vergil, consequently leaving him exposed.

Jester suddenly kicked out toward her, which Lady nimbly dodged, only to have his staff knock her across the face.

Crying out, Lady dropped to the ground, blood already dripping into her eyes from a nasty cut on her forehead. Wiping the blood from her eyes, Lady trained one of her guns on Jester's skipping form, her other hand pushing herself up.

A jump from Jester, coupled with that insane laugh, and he landed directly on Vergil's back, elating a sharp cry from the half devil, as Vergil was unfortunately still conscious.

"The prince and the princess, sitting in a tree. K…I…S…S…I…N…G!" Jester laughed manically and Lady fired. Only no bullet burst forth from her weapon, instead there was only a horrifying click.

Jester laughed again, his long fingers wrapping about Vergil's head, the long black nails pressing into his scalp, leaving small tendrils of blood.

Vergil's finger's moved on the hard rock beneath him as Lady attempted to find one working weapon.

"Oh, the poor princess is out of ammo." Jester chuckled, his face dipping to meet Vergil's face half way as his hand wrenched Vergil's head up. "Too bad for you." Jester hissed.

"Maybe the master will be kind in the end, and give what's left of her pretty body to you! All for a little price of your soul!"

"Go to Hell." Lady wasn't quite sure how he managed to muster it, but even the fact that he said it meant that like his sword, there was still a glimmer of hope for Vergil's soul.

"Too Late!" Jester screeched happily and slammed Vergil's head into the hard ground.

Vergil groaned and lay still, mercifully succumbing to unconsciousness once more.

Lady on the other hand screamed with such volatile rage that she even surprised herself.

Running toward Jester and unsheathing the only working weapon still on her lithe body, Lady slashed with an upwards stroke at Jester, who as before hopped away. "For the love of… Just stand freaking still, you coward!" she screamed out at the perverted clown, Yamato's bloody blade held tightly in her grasp.

"He he! Pity, I was hoping you'd aim a bit more down." The clown laughed contemplatively, the bells jingling on his freakish hat as he bowed his head in thought. "But if at first you don't succeed… try, try again!"

Lady's eyes blazed as Jester jumped down from his perch.

"Whoa!" Mid way through Jester's leap though, a large disembodied black claw came flying out of no where, hitting the sadistic and annoying alter ego straight in the chest causing him to fly back through the air and finally become pinned to a distant boulder.

Completely shocked, Lady didn't bother to even try to pick her mouth up as she blinked at the sudden change in circumstances.

"You know I always wanted to do that." Dante's voice came from beside her as he moved to stand next to her. "He always annoyed the crap out of me."

A large smirk played across his handsome features as he observed his handy work.

Lady could only shake her head as she sheathed the sword in her hands.

"Well, time to go." Dante said, bending to pick up his older brother.

Lady still stood looking at the dark claw embedded in the boulder hundreds of yards away, a bit of purple could be seen on either side of it. Feeling a hand on the small of her back, Lady suddenly felt the odd sensation of flying as Dante shoved her through the portal.

Reviewer Thanks:

ShyAnon: Hey! No need to apologize! We all get busy with our own lives and then we end up getting behind. Anyway, now that you're all caught up, lets see if I can reply to all your reviews in one sitting. Lol!

I got the idea of Ebony and Ivory from the cut scene in which Dante and Vergil work together to defeat Arkham. In the end, it just seemed right. I also always enjoyed the idea of all three women working with Dante since they all impacted his life so much in the games, and where else would they be able to make money doing the only thing they probably know who to do. Not to mention that they are with people who have to deal with the same things so there is no need for any secrecy. I'm also a big stickler for keeping the DMC characters relative to the way they were in the games. I absolutely hate stories were the author has totally messed with them.

I'm very glad you liked the last chapter. When it came down to setting it up, I tried to think of what would affect Vergil the most with torture. I think I succeeded. I also wanted just a little bit of comic relief to the chapter so I put in Dante's little spanking. It's something that just speaks of sibling rivalry! The sword on the other hand I'm using as a metaphor, but I'm sure how far I'll take it just yet. Well, I can't wait to hear from you again! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it's not quite as good as the last one.

XxDawnxRiderxX: I love Vergil too! Though unfortunately it'll be a couple of chapters before he wakes up. Sorry.

wildgirlxyz3: I'm so glad your enjoying this. As I told ShyAnon, I totally hate stories where the author has pretty much turned the characters into OC's, so I do my best to make sure I don't do that.

Frost (): Guess you didn't quite catch that, and I'll make sure to deal with that once Dante and company have Vergil back and have to deal with his injuries. But anyway, he's not healing cause the vampire women were totally draining him of most of his blood. Kinda like Nevan tired to do to Dante. And without his demon powers at some sort of strength, he can't heal himself, not to mention now he is losing additional blood. Any more questions, feel free to ask!

MazdaKitsune: Thought you might. But why pity Dante? As for Vergil… he won't be completely the same, but he's too much of a hard ass to be completely different.

LordxxAxelxxLover: I love Vergil stories too! Probably why I'm writing one. I always try to update once a week. So is that soon enough?

Yodel: I took a lot of time to think of what would be the best sort of torture for Vergil, keeping in mind his pride and cold disposition, and came out with this. I'm actually rather proud of it and I'm glad you thought it was a great idea to! Though I didn't quite think that pulling Yamato out was funny, but to each their own.

Lady Luce: Big Bow! Thank you! Thank you! You're making me blush.

Well I have to say I love your reviews. They always tell me exactly what I'm doing right and if there's anything I should be improving on. Anyway, I thought the whole Vergil lying around on a floor or in a cell was just getting old, as well as the fact that it's just not very hellish. Just locking Vergil up doesn't seem like much of a punishment, especially since he's in Hell.

Dante having a mental breakdown is also old, and just doesn't pertain to his character. He's seen way too much to breakdown like that. And I never imagined Lady as a damsel in distress, if anything, she's going to work damn hard to make sure that she's not. It's why I love her so much! She's my favourite female video game character ever, and there is no way that I'm going to mess with her character!

Kez-o the Brave: Thank you! I truly hope I don't disappoint, though I know this one wasn't as good. I'll apologize for that. But I decided, getting Vergil back in the human world was a bit more interesting than having to back track through Hell. Next chapter will be better, promise!

The Lex and Terry Listener: I get lazy too. Logging in every couple of days can really become annoying.


	8. The Gift of Blood

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to DMC. See the chapter 2 disclaimer if you need more info.

Chapter 8: The Gift of Blood

As a result of Dante's push, Lady stumbled through the gate, ending up on her hands and knees, scarping her elbow open on the broken pavement and gravel. Though for once she didn't really mind, she could have even kissed the ground so happy was she to be back in her own world.

"Close it!" Dante ordered seriously as his boots suddenly materialized beside her head.

Immediately Lucia's voice began chanting as Dante continued forward, Trish quickly moving to his side. "What did they do to him?" she asked, her voice clearly horrified.

"You don't want to know." Dante replied quietly.

There was a snap as the portal behind Lady closed, the amulet dropping down next to her with a clink.

Lady reached out, her fist shakily closing around the twins' amulet. Arms around her shoulders carefully helped her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Lucia's voice asked softly.

Once standing Lady realized exactly how exhausted and in pain she felt. Leaning on Lucia for support the dark haired huntress answered with a "Fine."

"I did not think to ever see you again." Lucia spoke truthfully, her voice holding a slight tone of awe to it, as she helped Lady toward Trish's Ferrari where Dante was already depositing his brother in the back seat.

"We should look after his wounds here!" Trish was arguing with Dante, her blue eyes flashing. "He's bleeding too much, and…"

Dante pulled back out of the car and turned toward the blonde standing behind him, cutting her off. "I'll get the damn car detailed for you tomorrow! Jeez! And we are going to look after everything At Home, where we have the stuff to do it!" Dante growled angrily, his own blue eyes flashing as he matched wills with the spitting image of his mother.

"You'd better. But if he bleeds to death…"

Again Dante interrupted Trish, further pissing her off. "He won't!"

Before Trish could speak again, he brushed past her walking straight toward Lady and Lucia. "You ok?" he asked worriedly, his eyes significantly softening.

"Peachy," Lady responded, and he lifted a fine white eyebrow speculatively.

Dante lifted the large katana from her back, gently pried his mother's amulet out of her fist and handed it to Lucia, then seconds later she found herself in his arms. "Hey!" she cried indigently. "I can walk you know."

"I know, just look at this as my way of saying thank you." He smiled walking back toward the car, where Trish still stood with her hands on her hips.

Lady decided for once in her life not to argue and simply enjoyed the ride. She found herself deposited next to Vergil in the back seat. Thinking about her bike she decided that Dante was right; she was in no condition to drive. She heard the trunk on the car slam shut and knew that Dante had placed all of their weapons within its confine. His voice followed moments later, "Trish, you take my bike. Lucia, could you take Lady's?"

"Am I being left with much choice?" The red head's voice sounded.

"Ahh…" Dante replied sheepishly, and Lady could almost picture him standing there scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, lets get these two home, so we can look after them properly."

Lady looked over at Vergil's slumped form, his head leaning against the back seat. She didn't understand why Dante was being so stubborn about looking after his twin at home, though the thought of home sounded very comforting at the moment.

The driver side door opened and then slammed shut as Dante seated himself behind the wheel. Seconds later the engine purred to life and Lady could feel the vehicle be put into gear. The sound of the engine was like a soothing lullaby and Lady closed her eyes, soon succumbing to her exhaustion.

They were almost home. Dante glanced in the rear view mirror at his precious cargo.

Lady had passed out shortly after he had set the car in motion, and currently she had her head on Vergil's shoulder. If it hadn't been for the fact that they both looked like they had been through hell and back – oh wait, that's exactly what had happened – then the scene might have even been cute.

Letting go of the steering wheel with one hand, something that at the speed he was going was extremely dangerous, and fished around in his coat looking for his cell phone. His hand closed around it, and with a grin he pulled it from the pocket, flipped it open and fumbled around with it until he had the camera mode on. Grinning mischievously he pointed it toward the back seat and glancing back at the camera for a second, snapped a picture.

Chuckling he replaced the phone back in his pocket, armed with a new kind of ammunition for his next argument with Lady or Vergil. Neither of them would believe it without proof, besides the picture was also too cute to not show Trish and Lucia.

The sun was just breaking the horizon when he finally pulled up in front of Devil May Cry. Trish and Lucia had made it home a few minutes before him, having an easier time navigating the bikes around the nasty road conditions of the old highway and then the light early morning traffic of New York. Both bikes were parked with the keys still in the ignition, and following their example Dante paid little heed to the keys of the Ferrari. He didn't worry about any of the vehicles being stolen.

Once his bike had been taken and after tracking down the thief, he had practically taken the punk's chop shop down around his head. After terrorizing the dude just enough to ensure that neither his vehicle or any of his female companions vehicles were ever stolen again, he made sure that the word was spread that his vehicles were off limits unless they wanted a very pissed hunter breathing down their necks. In fact a few years after, Lady's bike had also been stolen and then promptly returned a few hours later with not only a fresh coat of paint and new tires, but also a note of apology taped to the seat.

"Sorry, new kid didn't realise what he was doing. Thought the bike could use a touch up and new wheels. Hope you don't mind and sorry again for the trouble." The note had read. Neither Dante nor Lady in the end minded, though that was only after they chromed every inch of the Interceptor for damage.

Pulling the car seat back, Dante reached in for Lady first and gently removed her from Vergil's side. Carrying her light body in through the door he found Lucia making her way down the staircase from their rooms.

Seeing him she stopped and with a wave, beckoned him up. "Bring her up, I've got everything set up already."

Reaching Lady's room, he noticed that the girls had removed Lady's good blankets from her bed and placed a plastic sheet as well as an old blanket down to protect the mattress.

Laying the unconscious woman in his arms down on her bed, he hesitated a moment as Lucia went to work, watching as the red haired huntress stripped the guns and holsters from Lady's body.

"I'll be fine here." Lucia stated. "You should get Vergil. Trish is probably waiting for him."

Feeling just a tad embarrassed as Lucia next began stripping the tattered blouse off Lady, Dante nodded and turned toward the door to find Trish already leaning against the side of the door waiting.

The blonde said nothing as he brushed past her, but he could tell she was still grumpy at him.

Getting back down to the car, with Trish hot on his heels, he hauled Vergil out of the car and slammed the car door with his foot.

"Hey! Don't dent my car!" Trish growled unhappily and then looked the half devil in Dante's arms over once more. "We should put him in the tub."

"What? Why?" Dante asked, waiting as Trish scooted past him to open the door.

"Because, then we can have an easier time of cleaning him up without destroying the mattress." Trish stated.

"Oh, yeah. Good idea." It was a well-known fact that when it came to repairs around the office, Dante was a penny pincher.

Trish, still ahead of him, disappeared into the room that they had previously set up for Vergil to retrieve her supplies.

Dante walked down the length of the hall and without bothering to flick the light on in the bathroom at the end of the hall, he placed his brother in the bathtub.

Trish entered a moment later and flicked the light on for him, as he bent to remove his brother's boots.

Placing the majority of her first aid supplies on the counter, and the rest on the toilet, Trish knelt down beside the tub, slowly taking stock of each of Vergil's grisly wounds.

Slowly, she began unwinding the makeshift bandages from around his body, starting with the smallest wounds. "God, Dante. He's lost so much blood." Trish spoke softly, as she unwound one of the blood soaked bandages from his arm.

"He'll be alright." Dante spoke stubbornly, removing his twin's pants with a quick tug, leaving him naked save for the bandages.

Standing he removed the hand held shower head from its mount and bending once more fiddled with the taps until he was satisfied with the warm temperature of the water coming out of the shower head in a soft stream. Leaving the water to run at the bottom of the tub, were Trish could reach for it as necessary, he looked to see her slowly removing the tablecloth from around Vergil's chest.

"What the hell did you use? A tablecloth?" Trish muttered, still unwinding the long strip of material.

"It was probably the cleanest thing in that room." Dante supplied and watched his brother's face carefully.

Of course there was no reaction; Vergil was completely out cold. None the less, Dante was highly concerned about what would happen when his brother did wake up. He had no idea what Vergil would do. Would he try to attack them or would he be too broken in spirit to care?

Trish finished unwrapping the tablecloth and gasped as blood immediately flowed in renewed vigour down Vergil's chest. "Dante!" she breathed, horrified as she desperately used the tablecloth to stanch the bleeding. "I can't fix that type of injury!"

"You have to." Dante spoke simply, looking down at the blood swirling down the drain.

"I can't!" Trish replied stubbornly. "You're going to have to call Bobby!"

"No," Dante told her sternly. "I'm not going to involve anyone else in this." Dr. Bobby Sinclair was a surgeon that Dante had saved years ago from a nasty poltergeist, instead of taking payment though; Dante simply enlisted the good doctor's help when it was needed, even putting the surgeon on a payroll for his services.

"Damn it, Dante! After all that work you and Lady did, are you going to just let all that swirl, literally, down that drain?" Trish was angry and she looked up at him, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"He won't die. He's too much of a devil for that." Dante kept up stubbornly. If anything happened, Dante sure as heck didn't want to have to live with getting the kindly doctor killed for looking after his brother.

"Even you couldn't heal from this type of wound after being so drained." Trish stated, her temper sparking. Gesturing with one hand to Vergil's neck, she continued. "Those vampires drained him of all but the smallest reserves of his demon energy. He's bleeding to death! He can't heal and I'm no surgeon! Call Bobby!" The last was an order; suddenly Trish was sounding very much like Lady.

Dante looked down on his twin once more, contemplating. Trish was right, all of their work would go to hell if they weren't able to stop the bleeding, and even with Trish putting pressure on his wound, more of Vergil's blood was staining the bathtub in an ugly red, the rest slipped down the drain in small swirls. Vergil's face, always pale, was now sheet white. Dante didn't think he could find such a colour of white on any paper or in any paint can.

Finally Dante turned pulling his cell phone from his pocket, his decision made. Scrolling through the numbers, he called Bobby hoping that the man was at home and not already at the hospital.

Hurrying down the metal stairs, Dante sighed in relief as the phone on the other end was picked up and a very sleepy voice answered, "Hello?"

"Bobby. This is Dante. I'm going to need your services."

"Uhmm," a yawn, "I can't I've got work in an hour."

"This can't wait." Dante replied shoving the front door open with his shoulder.

"How bad?" Bobby's voice instantly sobered up on the other end.

"A through n through." Dante opened the car door again, sliding once more in behind the wheel.

"Gun shot?"

"No. Sword."

"Who?" Dante could hear Bobby moving around on the other end.

"My brother." Dante started the ignition and put the Ferrari into drive once more.

There was a pause on the other end. "I didn't know you had a brother."

"Most don't." Dante replied grimly, pulling out onto the main street.

"Give me about thirty minutes and I'll be there." The doctor said and Dante could hear more shuffling.

"Don't bother. I'm coming to get you."

"How long?"

Checking the clock on the dash, Dante replied. "Less then ten minutes."

"I'll be ready." The doctor stated and there was a click as he hung up.

Dante made it to Dr. Sinclair's apartment complex in seven minutes, with a distance that would have taken any normal driver twenty to thirty depending on traffic. The middle-aged doctor was already waiting, coffee in one hand and small suitcase in the other.

Dr. Robert Sinclair, better known as Bobby, was a dark skinned man, and despite his somewhat intimidating appearance he was in fact actually very good natured and caring.

Dressed in green scrubs, with his wire rimmed glasses set high on his nose, Bobby stepped down toward the silver sports car.

Dante didn't bother climbing out; instead he simply leaned over the passenger seat and opened the door.

"My, that was fast!" Bobby said in slight awe, as he handed Dante his morning coffee sliding into the passenger seat.

"You know me." Dante stated without feeling, waiting impatiently as the surgeon pulled on his seatbelt and repositioned the suitcase in between his legs so that it was a bit more comfortable.

"Yes, and one of these days your going to wind up killing someone." The doctor replied unimpressed.

"I'm careful." Dante stated indigently and once again set the car in motion, after returning the coffee to its owner.

Bobby sipped his coffee, undoubtedly grateful for the Ferrari's smooth driving capabilities. "So may I ask what was the cause of such an injury?"

Dante debated, but found that an answer wasn't required as Bobby spoke again. "Never mind, its probably best I don't know."

Dante concentrated on driving thereafter, traffic was picking up as the city slowly woke.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Bobby had a decidable soft spot for Trish.

"Lady got a bit banged up, but she'll be alright. She's a trooper."

"Quite." Bobby answered, finishing his coffee. A glance at the back seat had him gasping in horror though a minute later. "Please tell me that's not all from your brother?"

Dante didn't need to look to see the dark blood still coating the tanned leather rear seat. "Unfortunately."

"My God! And he's still alive?" Bobby looked aghast at Dante.

"Last I checked." Dante answered, barely slowing down at a corner.

"Is he still awake?"

"Out cold."

"Not good." Bobby muttered, looking anywhere but out the window at the buildings and street signs blurring past.

"Trish is trying to stanch the bleeding as best as possible." Dante replied as he pulled up to Devil May Cry, narrowly missing hitting the motorcycles.

Bobby was out of the car before Dante could even turn off the engine. The doctor really could be quick when he wanted to.

Dante followed and once in the office he took the lead, taking the stairs two at a time, the surgeon in hot pursuit. "We have him in the bath room for now." Dante stated, speed walking down the hall. As he passed Lady's room he glanced toward the bed to see that Lucia was still hard at work.

Reaching the bathroom, Dante noticed that somehow, Trish had managed to clean some of his brother up, while maintaining her pressure on his chest wound. Bobby brushed past Dante, hastily leaving his case by the door and bending beside Trish.

"Dear Lord." Bobby shook his head and placed his fingers to Vergil's neck. "Why didn't you take him to a hospital?" he asked angrily.

"Yeah, that would have gone over well." Dante mumbled grumpily. When dealing with patients, especially severely injured ones, Bobby could be more of a pain to deal with than even Lady when she was in a foul mood.

"Regardless, we would have had the equipment to deal with him there. It's a miracle your brother is still alive." Bobby stated, removing a small flashlight from his pocket he pried Vergil's eyelids open, shining the light within them.

Replacing the flashlight, Bobby looked down at Vergil's chest where Trish was still placing pressure on the wound. "You said it was a through and through?" He questioned, but instead of waiting for an answer, he slowly lifted Vergil's shoulders to peer behind his back. "I'm not going to be able to treat him like this. We're going to have to move him into bed." He stated, and gently lowering Vergil back against the tub, lifted the bloody table cloth from Vergil's chest only have Vergil moan softly as the blood pumped freely again.

Immediately Dante pulled Ebony from its holster and trained it on Vergil's forehead, receiving a glare from Trish. It didn't matter, if Vergil even made the slightest wrong move toward Bobby, brother or not, he wouldn't live long enough to cause any damage.

Placing the tablecloth back down over the wound, Bobby patted Vergil's cheeks. "Come on son. Show me there's still some life in there."

Vergil's eyelids fluttered and opened for half a second before his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Trish keep pressure on that wound and Dante…" Bobby looked up to Dante and seeing the gun in his hands, frowned. "Good God Dante! He's your brother for God's sake! Put that gun down and get him into bed!"

With a frustrated sigh, Dante did as he was told, holstering Ebony and moving to Trish's side, carefully picking his brother up out of the bathtub.

With Trish at his side, they walked back down the hall to the room opposite of Dante's that they had all unanimously agreed would be Vergil's. Entering the simple room, there being only a night table with lamp, a chair and a bed in the entirety of the room, Dante laid Vergil on the bed.

"On his side please." Bobby instructed, standing behind them.

Dante rolled his brother to his side as Bobby continued his instructions. "Trish, I'm going to need more light. Dante, take her place and keep pressure on both the entry and exit wounds."

Dante did as asked, unfolding a bit of the soaked tablecloth so that it could reach Vergil's back.

Trish left nearly immediately to attend to her task, while Bobby left the room and returned momentarily with his suitcase. Opening it, Dante got a good view of all the various instruments and medical items Bobby had pilfered from the hospital over the five years that they had known him, so that now the good doctor was as nearly well stocked as an emergency room, minus the EKG monitor of course.

"When Trish returns, I'm going to need you to retrieve some blood from the hospital."

"Don't worry about that." Dante replied watching the doctor as he pulled a bottle of antibacterial soap from his case.

"Your brother needs blood!" Bobby growled, straightening and glaring at Dante. "I don't understand why you are being so ridiculous. This is your brother for God's sake!"

Frowning, and not at all enjoying being ridiculed by everyone in the vicinity, Dante replied, "Vergil and I have the same rare blood type. You'll just have to settle for me."

"Are you sure?" Bobby looked at Dante sceptically.

"Yeah," Dante answered softly looking down at his brother's limp body. "Vergil made sure both of us knew."

_--------------------_

_"Why do I need to know about this crap?" _Dante asked his elder brother. _"It's just a waste of time. We're practically invincible!"_

_"None the less, it may come in handy some day." _Vergil answered in annoyance.

_"Psht." _Dante returned rolling his eyes.

"Knowledge is power Dante! No matter how insignificant it may seem. And I intend to have as much power as I can get!"

_--------------------_

Dante sighed at Vergil's wisdom, even if it had been for the wrong reasons, it was useful now.

"There is one other way." Trish stated, bringing in two large lamps and a light bed sheet.

"No." Dante glared at her. He knew exactly what she was talking about. By literally feeding blood to Vergil, they could invoke and almost kick start the demon - since all demons, regardless of vampire or other, reacted violently to the taste of blood - within him to start repairing his body naturally, or unnaturally which ever way you wanted to look at it.

"But…" Trish began, setting down the lamps and snapping out the bed sheet over Vergil's lower half.

"No!" Dante enforced his decision angrily. That option was simply not open for discussion. Vergil was either going to come back as himself, or not at all. He was in no way going to facilitate Vergil's demon half.

Bobby simply looked between the two with a slight look of confusion on his dark face, and then with a shrug he left the room heading once more for the bathroom.

Trish sighed and left the room as well, returning only a few seconds later with a tray table under her arm. "You sure are being stubborn about this." She said, unfolding the table and began setting various medicinal tools and equipment on the table.

"Damn, straight. He's coming back the right way! Not the easy way!" Dante replied.

Trish eyed him thoughtfully and then looking down to Vergil, nodded her assent.

Bobby returned momentarily, his clean hands held up to keep them from getting any sort of germs on them.

Trish was quick to pull some gloves over them, and proceeded next to put a mask and a cap over the surgeon's face. Then moving behind Vergil, Bobby got to his work looking after the exit wound first.

After a moment of sponging the wound, the surgeon looked up at Dante, "Take a seat. Trish if you would be so kind as to hook Dante up."

Trish nodded already pulling a catheter from Bobby's suitcase.

The blonde haired huntress was good, even Dante had to admit that as he barely felt the pinprick of the needle. Moments later his blood was flowing into his brother, binding them even closer than they ever had been before.

Thereafter, Dante relaxed into his chair, watching as Bobby and Trish skilfully closed all of Vergil's wounds, and not once did Vergil make a peep. In fact as Dante's blood flowed into him, his breathing relaxed and it seemed more as if he were just asleep and not unconscious.

What felt like hours later, Trish detached Dante from Vergil, and Bobby pulled the final stitches through Vergil's skin, leaving him looking a bit like Frankenstein.

Bobby pulled off his gloves and threw them into a wastebasket that Lucia had brought when she was through with Lady. "He'll live." Bobby supplied, eyeing his patient critically. "I'll be back in the evening to check on him. Don't worry about him waking up though. With the amount of blood he's lost… I wouldn't be surprised if he only woke up a few days from now."

Dante nodded, stretching and rubbing some feeling back into his arm. "Thanks Bobby."

The black man grinned, pulling the facemask and cap off. "That's what you pay me for. Now if someone would be so kind as to call a cab for me."

Reviewer Thanks:

The Lex and Terry Listener: Spelling mistakes!? Please if you see some don't hesitate! Though please keep in mind that I am Canadian and we do tend to spell things a bit differently. Otherwise… please let me know!! Anyway, I'm also very glad that your still enjoying this story and hope you enjoyed this chapter! Ta ta for now!

LordxxAxelxxLover: Yeah, I hate Jester too, with a passion. Pretty much I included that part just so I could get Dante to do something nasty to him. It's the one thing I wished for in the game… the chance to KILL Jester!!!

Kez-o the Brave: Bet you liked this chapter more. Anyway, as you say staying in Hell for to long does make things very awkward and complicated. I'm finding I'm having a little trouble with how far to go with Vergil and how fast to bring him back without being to unrealistic. You'll have to tell me in the next bunch of chapters if I did a good job.

Oh… And plenty of cookies for you for periodically reviewing!!!

XxDawnxRiderxX: Well, don't worry about your love. He'll be in next week's chapter. And not only will it be a strictly Vergil x Lady chapter, but its looong! As for Dante, yeah he is so cool and hot. I'm not sure who's better looking… Dante… Vergil… Dante… Vergil… hmmm. I'll go with Vergil just cause I have a thing for misunderstood dark souled dudes.

Yodel: Hey, how come you reviewed from the first chapter? Anyway, after working together for over 6 years, of course Lady and Dante would work well together. They just both have a thing for killing demons. Hmm… you're reading my mind again, cause low and behold look what this chapter was about!


	9. Climb into the Unknown

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to Devil May Cry. Check chapter 2 for more information!

Chapter 9: Climb into the Unknown

Lady awoke to the warmth of the mid-day sun shining on her face. Groaning, she placed a hand to her forehead only to pull it quickly away with a gasp of pain. "So it wasn't just a dream." She spoke softly to herself, rising carefully into a sitting position.

Listening quietly for any sound from her roommates, she heard nothing and assumed that they were either out or asleep. Glancing at her digital alarm clock and seeing that it was quarter after one, wondered what day it was. Was it still the same day that they had retrieved Vergil, or had the entirety of that day come and gone?

Slowly standing with the old blanket clutched around her body, feeling a little less naked that way, she moved to her dresser and pulled out a clean set of jeans, a loose black t-shirt and clean underwear. Taking all the articles with her, she stopped to check if the hallway was empty, the last thing she needed was for Dante to see her walking around with barely anything on, and then proceeded to the bathroom, which was thankfully closest to her room.

After attending to her bodily needs, and showering carefully to remove the encrusted blood and goop from her body and hair, Lady exited the bathroom feeling worlds better. Listening again for any movement, she started down the hallway, stopping by Trish's room first.

Trish's room was decorated for the most part in black, save for the pictures, posters and figurines of kittens. The blonde woman had a thing for kittens and cats in general, and after Dante had refused to get a pet – they had put it to a vote and without a fifth person, had ended up at a stalemate – had decorated her room with anything that she could find that featured the loveable balls of fur.

Seeing that Trish's bed was neatly made, Lady continued down the hall. Next, on the opposite side from Trish's room, was Lucia's. With the door closed, Lady knew that the red head was asleep and had no intention of bothering her.

The rooms on the end, nearest to the stairs, belonged to Dante and the newly returned Vergil.

Pausing to look in Dante's room, she had to stifle a snicker at the sight of the demon hunter sprawled over his bed wearing only a pair of Spiderman boxers. Ebony and Ivory, along with the rest of his clothes lay strewn across the floor, where he had undoubtedly discarded them in his journey to his bed, evidence of how tired he must have been.

Shaking her head at the slight snore that emitted from him, Lady quietly pulled the door so that it was almost closed and then turned toward Vergil's.

Seeing the door slightly ajar, she gingerly pushed it open to find Trish sitting in a chair beside Vergil's bed, reading a book.

The elder twin himself, looked only slightly better than when she had seen him last. Lying on his side with only a sheet covering his body from the waist down, Lady got a good look of the grisly wound in his chest that had a thick bandage covering it. Stitches covered the rest of his more minor wounds, making the fine flesh of his arms seem as if someone had put them through a cheese grater.

Blood no longer covered his body for which she was glad, but like her own, no one had taken the time to wash his hair or clean up any portion of skin not completely necessary to the healing processes of his injuries.

Trish looked up from her book, meeting Lady's eyes with her sapphire orbs. "I didn't think you'd be up for awhile. How are you feeling?" Trish asked, softly.

"Alright," Lady replied, her eyes returned to Vergil's comatose form. "A little hungry. I was going to get something, you want anything?"

"No, I'm fine." Trish returned and stood, her eyes following Lady's gaze to Vergil. "It was a bit touch and go, but I think he's out of the woods now." She answered Lady's silent question.

Lady nodded and Trish continued, "We had to get Bobby out to deal with that chest wound, and Dante had to give him a blood transfusion. That fruit is funny though, the bugger practically fought us to keep us from treating Vergil properly, then when every thing's said and done, the bugger wouldn't leave his brother's side. I literally had to kick him in the ass to get him out of here."

Lady chuckled, "Sounds like Dante to me."

"Hmm," Trish murmured, studying Lady quietly. Suddenly she moved forward so that she was inches from Lady. "What happened between you two in Temen-ni-gru?"

"Huh?" Lady questioned, confused as to Trish's question. Dante hadn't been to forth coming about everything that had happened in Temen-ni-gru, but he had always happily recounted his encounters with Lady.

"You and Vergil. Dante said both of you hooked up and climbed the rest of the tower together after he left you in the Devine Library. What happened between the two of you? I've never seen you this way?"

Lady didn't answer for a time; instead she closed her eyes and remembered that short trek.

_--------------------_

"_Do as you wish. I will not stop you."_

Lady followed Vergil through into the chamber beyond. She remembered this room and its annoying demon powered springboards. Vergil walked with graceful strides up the short staircase and stood waiting by the first of the springboards.

"_Ladies first_," He gestured toward the red glowing circle.

Lady sucked up her ill feelings toward the springboard and without hesitation stepped onto it, immediately being sent flying high into the air. Aiming carefully, she landed on the next springboard, being propelled higher.

One more springboard later she aimed furthest opposite the high rising chamber and landed in front of a large double door. Grimacing at the pain that lanced up her injured leg, she crouched in her landing position for a few extra moments that were drawn quickly short when Vergil landed neatly beside her.

Standing she didn't even afford him a glance as she took the lead, determined to hold up her end of the bargain. Stepping through the doors into another corridor, this one having a wide-open balcony that allowed fresh air into the tower, Lady passed the balcony and took a short flight of stairs up and then stopped, as two options existed for her to take.

One, a large set of doors stood looking slightly ominous, the other was a widened crack in the wall. Beyond the crack Lady could make out something glimmering.

"_I think I see something."_ Lady stated, pulling a gun and stepping forward with care.

Vergil followed; the slight pop of his sword leaving its sheath by a fraction of an inch reached her ears.

Together they stepped through the crack into the room that had once been the Trial of Warriors.

"_There doesn't seem to be a way through here."_ Vergil stated coldly, turning to retrace his steps.

Lady looked around a bit closer, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled and there was a decidably off feeling to the place. She turned to look at Vergil's already retreating back, only to see a demon drop down behind him, its scythe ready to strike. Without hesitation she fired, dropping the demon before it could bring the blade of its wicked weapon down into Vergil's blue coated back.

At the sound of her shot Vergil turned, his katana being unsheathed simultaneously, then he stepped back to watch.

Lady didn't bother paying much attention to him; she had every intention of keeping their deal, and wasn't at all bothered by his lack of participation in the battle. In fact, if he had tried to assist, she might have taken it as a direct and unforgivable insult.

Bullets whizzed, each finding a mark in some demon's body, some shattering into dust immediately, some managing to get some semblance of a move on her before they too exploded into sand.

Finally just when she thought she had wasted all of the demons surrounding her, she came face to face with a Hell Vanguard. _"Shit," _she muttered and dove out of the way as it swung its huge long scythe at her. Rolling to her knees, she fired at the creature, the bullets disappearing into its thick black cloak. Forced to roll out of the way again, she ejected her spent ammunition clips and snapped new ones into the guns, so that when she again came back up into a crouching position, she was ready to fire again, except that now the Vanguard was gone.

Quickly getting to her feet, she looked about the small area. A hideous scream alerted her to the Vanguard before she even had a good location on it. Rolling again, she narrowly missed its flying form. Breathing hard she kept her senses on high, alert for any movement or noise. The scream sounded again and with a quick jump and flip she landed in a sitting position on top of the large scythe that had been intended to impale her into the ground from behind.

Close enough now to the Grim Reaper like creature, that she had a good view of its face, she crossed her legs one over the other, and with a smirk pulled the trigger of the gun that was aimed directly into the creature's skull like visage.

An odd gasp sounded from the demon as the bullet found its mark within one of the glowing blue eyes. Seconds later it crumpled in upon itself leaving nothing but the scythe and the black cloak to mark its previous presence.

Lady paused, waiting for any other surprises. When none came, she holstered her gun and looked to Vergil who had sheathed his weapon as well.

"_Well done, Mary." _He spoke in congratulations, though the cold sarcastic tone to his voice set Lady's nerves on edge.

"_That's not my name." _She growled, the name lending another notch to her already fried nerves.

Vergil raised a perfectly sculptured white eyebrow, but said nothing.

"_Mary died a long time ago."_

"_Then…" _He paused, perhaps searching for the right words though neither his face nor his eyes gave away any of the internal workings of his mind.

_"Call me Lady."_ She replied with a certain amount of pride.

A snicker escaped those beautiful lips. _"It's hardly prudent to give…"_

_"Your brother gave it to me."_ She interrupted him, generating a frown from him. Apparently he wasn't used to being interrupted.

_"As I said before, my brother is an idiot. And it remains to be seen if you are worthy of such a name."_ He stated coldly and turned, walking back toward the corridor.

Infuriated by his callous and insulting remark Lady nearly pulled a gun back out. What kind of game was he up to? Forcefully containing her anger, she breathed in deeply a few times to relax her strained temper, and then followed the elder twin.

She found him standing through the large doors looking up into a dark room that extended hundreds of feet into the air. Disconnected cubes, floated and hovered in oddly placed positions as far as she could see up.

_"This is going to take forever."_ Lady breathed in awe, suddenly feeling very small and useless without her trusty multi-purpose rocket launcher.

_"On contraire."_ Vergil spoke turning toward her and hanging his sheathed sword from his belt. _"Observe."_

A dark purplish blue aura engulfed his entire body, and Lady could only watch in helpless horror as his bones popped and twisted, tendons snapped and muscles bulged and tore. Great night blue wings tore from Vergil's back, even as his finger nails elongated into sharp black claws, and blue and silver scales slowly replaced his skin and clothes.

In a few seconds the handsome man had been replaced by a terrifying demon of which the likes that Lady had never seen before. Glowing blue green eyes stared back at her with a slight amount of amusement.

A snort and he turned his back to her, his wings unfolding.

For a moment Lady had the horrific thought that he would leave her standing there, but he proved her wrong and turned his head looking over his shoulder at her. _"Well?"_ The voice that emitted from the demon's maw was a gravely version of Vergil's.

Hesitating a moment more, Lady swallowed her fear of the creature standing before her, and firmly reminding herself that this was still Vergil, moved forward, placing her hands on his shoulders. Surprisingly the scales of his skin, although still hard and smooth, had an odd softness to them.

Biting her lip, she placed all her weight on his shoulders and with a quick jump, wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips, his clawed hands grasping her thighs gently to steady her.

The moment she was safely hugging his scaled back, his wings stretched out to their full length and then with a powerful leap and down stroke of his wings, they were in the air. His wings beat again, causing a whirlwind of dust to rise off the floor in their wake.

Vergil ascended slowly, watching the moving cubes before rising higher into the air. A few were narrowly missed, and Lady helplessly forced herself to remain calm and not choke the air out of Vergil.

Looking up to their destination, Lady caught the sight of the lesser demons moving around on a platform high above. Withdrawing her pistol, she rested it on Vergil's shoulder and waited until he brought them within range. The second she had a clear target; she pulled the trigger, surprising the demons and dropping more than a few from the platform.

Vergil accelerated past the platform, and lowering her gun from his shoulder shot down into the midst of the demons, finishing off any stragglers.

He landed gracefully, minutes later, the last of the demons still dissolving into sand around them. Slipping from his back, Lady moved, inspecting the area and insuring no further demons would jump out at them.

Seeing nothing, she holstered her gun and looked back at Vergil, who was once again looking normal, or as normal looking as one of the inhumanly handsome twins could be.

He rubbed his ear mildly, frowning at her. _"You would do well to learn the use of a sword. It might, if nothing else, save your hearing one of these days."_ He grumped and then walked past her, shoving open the double doors.

_"You're welcome."_ Lady muttered grumpily, why had she ever agreed to tag along with this pompous ass?

They emerged into a corridor that at one time had branched off into three separate paths. Now, two out of the three had collapsed or been covered in rubble with the revolution of the tower. Taking the only path, lead them into a room that contained the very things Lady hated the most.

_"God, why does it always have to be spiders?"_ She grumbled and Vergil turned to her with a slight look of surprise.

_"You aren't serious. You dealt with a Vanguard and are now afraid of a few fat bugs?"_

_"A: They are very fat ugly 'arachnids'! And B: They shoot…"_ Lady found she didn't need to finish that sentence, because Vergil suddenly found himself wrapped from head to toe in the gooey white substance.

He struggled and fought against the strong white cords as a very large spider descended from the ceiling.

Pulling her guns once more, Lady shot at it and then turned one gun and pointed it toward an eight-legged monstrosity headed her way. The spiders screamed in pain and scuttled a bit further away, bidding their time as two more joined the group.

Lady stood near Vergil, who wasn't having much luck freeing himself. He growled unhappily and suddenly relaxed; only slowly moving his sword hand. _"If you would be so kind as to unsheathe Yamato?"_

Lady kept her guns trained on the spiders, rapidly moving them from one arachnid to another. Glancing to the protruding sword, she debated on doing as he asked or just focusing on her current enemies. _"I'm kinda busy."_ She spoke out of the corner of her mouth.

_"Yes, I can see that."_ He growled angrily. _"But this would only…"_

Lady holstered a gun and in one fluid motion, turned, yanked the sheath off his sword and then pulled out her gun once more.

Even in the few seconds that took though, the spiders saw their opportunity and leapt.

Firing at the fat bodies, Lady leapt into the air as one spider's vicious claws raked down on the spot that she had been standing only seconds ago. She didn't pay Vergil any attention there after as she focused mainly on keeping herself alive.

All four of the spiders jumped after her, dodging her bullets and leaping to the ceiling or the walls all around her. She ducked as a mass of gooey webbing was launched at her.

What seemed like hours later, the ugly creatures slowly began dropping, succumbing to her bullets. The second last one flailed its legs around in front of her, as death claimed it. Spinning she looked for the last only to meet Vergil's eyes, as he sat atop the last one, his sword pinning it through its head to the ground beneath it.

Webbing was still stuck to his hair, face and expensive clothes. But the victorious stance he held, with one boot planted firmly on the large mass of the spider's body and the other situated on the ground just beside the thing's head, made it seem like only a minor detail.

Lady's breath caught slightly, as she looked down to where the spider's foremost legs were inches from her own. Looking back up at Vergil she quickly realized that he had saved her life.

He withdrew the large katana from the spider's head with a flourish, sheathing the blade slowly after. Saying nothing he stalked past her, picking the white goo from his face and hair. Lady followed after a moment, her brain still mulling over the last few minutes. What exactly was going on?

She found Vergil standing and looking down a long corridor that was sprouting spikes in rapid succession. Lady felt her strength deflate as she looked as those sharply pointed spikes. Why was nothing ever easy?

Steeling herself, Lady tried to gauge the sets of oncoming spikes, much as a child would have gauged a revolving skipping rope, but the spikes were just to fast.

Suddenly Vergil grabbed her arm, issuing a scream from her as he ran forward into the spikes.

Just as suddenly as he had grabbed her, he pressed her up against a wall his body flush with hers. Lady could only close her eyes in dread as those incredibly fast spikes moved in a hiss past them.

_"Move!"_ Vergil's voice had her opening her eyes, as she realized she was still alive and all body parts were accounted for. He propelled her roughly forward in a diagonal direction, only to once again hug her against the opposite wall.

Never before had Lady been so close to a man before, she could literally feel the well-defined muscles of his chest pressed up against her. Nor did she think she would have allowed it if it hadn't been for the extremely terrifying environment that they were in now.

Again Vergil ordered her to move, this time remaining along their current wall, and again he pressed her up against it as the spikes hissed past. Lady watched his face, wondering why he was doing this? Why was he using his own body to protect her? She knew the practical reason; she could die instantly if one of those spikes so much as grazed her, he would only be temporarily wounded. But that didn't answer the why. Maybe, somewhere deep within he was really like an ancient knight. Well, a dark one at that.

Lady didn't need any encouragement when Vergil ordered her to move again, she had already turned her attention to the on coming spires of death. Though each time he hugged her to a wall she found herself temporarily distracted.

They were almost to the end, only a few feet away, when the damned spikes rose up out of the ground. She prepared herself to jump, but suddenly, as quickly as all the other times had been, she found herself in Vergil's arms once more. Her world blurred for an instant and then she found herself looking back down the corridor, Vergil's arms still around her waist and her back pressed up against him comfortably.

_"I think I'll feel just a little bit sorry next time I chop up a vegetable."_ Lady spoke softly, her eyes not leaving the death trap they had just walked through.

_"Hmm,"_ Vergil murmured, _"I was thinking it resembled a cheese grater more."_

Lady chuckled,_ "I don't know. Maybe one of those multi-purpose blenders they're always showing on TV."_

_"Ah, one of those moronic inventions that can whip, blend, mix and chop up anything. I believe my brother was foolish enough to buy one."_ Vergil laughed, a deep rich laugh that was filled with genuine mirth and no hint of mockery.

_"I could see that."_ Lady responded, smiling in her newfound comfort with this dark knight. _"You should laugh like that more often."_ She stated softly.

The reaction she gained was not entirely unprepared for, since she knew at one point that they're moment would be lost, though she mourned it none the less.

As if finally realizing he was still nearly crushing her to his chest, Vergil swiftly released her and then quickly left through a broken section of the wall.

Shaking her head, Lady stepped out shortly after into the fresh night air, eager to leave Temen-ni-gru's idea of a blender behind. With her initial adrenaline rush of fear, battle and the simple need to survive leaving her as quickly as the wind blew the sweat from her body, Lady felt the pang of pain shooting through her injured leg as it reminded her that running and leaping around only aggravated the large wound more.

Placing a hand on the cool stone of the tower, she looked ahead to where Vergil was already waiting by another springboard.

She groaned, knowing that the blasted jump and subsequent landing would only have her leg protesting more.

Unwilling to show any more weakness to the blue coated devil standing just feet from her though, she squared her shoulders and stepped up.

She really was beginning to hate being shot up into space, only to land hard on the ground. This time though her leg gave out and she crashed to the ground in a cry of pain.

Pulling herself up into a sitting position on one of the rocks littering the balcony, Lady decided that Vergil was just going to have to give her a few moments of rest.

Just as before he landed neatly, and without a glance around started forward only to stop where the balcony joined up with another hallway.

Lady paid him no heed as her fingers shakily pulled another strip of bandaging from beneath her ammunition skirt and then began work on the blood soaked bandaging currently around her wounded leg. She hadn't even been able to unwind it twice around her leg, when Vergil's shadow suddenly loomed over her. Just as suddenly as he had appeared he knelt before her, his fingers gently taking over from hers.

_"I can…"_

_"I'm sure you can."_ His frigid blue eyes looked up, boring into her multi-faceted eyes. _"But time is pressing and with your permission, perhaps I can be of help."_

Not exactly sure what she was feeling, and hating herself for it, Lady nodded and he lowered his gaze and head once more.

His fingers were oddly soft and extremely gentle as he unwound the bandaging. Tossing the blooded strip of cloth away, he inspected the wound quietly._ "You are very lucky."_ He murmured softly, his fingers gliding over her skin absently. _"The main artery was missed. Though…"_ he mused, looking up thoughtfully into her eyes. _"It is a wonder that you are still standing, much less fighting and winning."_ The thoughtful look in his cold eyes warmed to that of uncertain marvel.

Sighing, he took the roll of bandaging from her hand and set back to work binding her wounded leg.

Lady gazed down into the soft spikes of his white hair wondering what was going on. Twice now he was actually being nice, and every turn of his attitude was causing her heart to do odd things. That last look in his eyes had caused her blasted heart to almost literally leap into her throat, trying to choke her, or so it felt. The feeling of his fingers softly moving over her skin didn't help matters.

Taking a deep breath to hopefully right her annoying heart, she continued to look down at that soft hair and had an incredible urge to touch it. Seeing a stray strand of webbing still lodged in its midst, she reached out and plucked it forth.

Immediately, Vergil looked up, his fingers pausing in their work and a look of sheer displeasure marring his marble features.

Holding out her fingers, showing off the sticky webbing on them, she said with a bit of satisfaction._ "You missed some."_

Vergil snorted and lowered his gaze once more, finishing his task by tucking the end of the bandaging neatly under the bindings. Once more his fingers glided over the bandaging and her smooth skin, before he stood fluidly, his hand closing over the sword that he had placed on the ground beside him.

Lady watched his back as he walked once more toward the adjoining corridor, then looking down at the neat bandaging job he had done, wondered again, what the heck was going on?

Two corridors and one nasty battle involving some ugly looking cat demons later Lady stood beside Vergil looking into an odd dark cloud that hung suspended underneath an arch barring their way. Vergil frowned, his eyes sparkling in impatience as he tried to look for an alternative and perhaps faster route.

Lady was getting the distinct impression that he was quite eager to get into Hell; he had even actively participated in the battle with the cat demons.

_"There's nothing for it. We'll have to just go through it."_ Lady suggested, seeing no way around the obstacle.

Vergil sighed, passing a hand through his feather light hair. He eyed the darkness once more and then passed his sheathed sword through it testily. Pulling the blade back out, he examined it for a moment and then with a soft growl, strode forward with Lady at his side.

They emerged into a circular room that was lit by a few small windows. Lady turned around in a full circle, looking for an exit while Vergil walked the full circumference of the room tapping with his sword on the closed shutters.

_"Now what?"_ Lady asked herself softly, watching mildly as Vergil continued his trek around the room. Noticing how his shadow began elongating, she cocked her head curiously, following the shadow into the darkness where something darker was taking shape. Suddenly two glowing red eyes appeared within the shadowy form, and it stepped forward, looking nearly identical to Vergil's demonic half, complete with sword. _"Vergil!"_ She called, catching his attention.

The dark twin frowned, upset at being interrupted, but his gaze was quickly drawn to the shadowy form of himself when the hiss of a sword being unsheathed reached both of their ears. _"Get those shutters open!"_ He ordered, unsheathing his own sword.

Lady moved to the nearest shutter, her hand moving searchingly over the contraption, seeking out a switch.

Blades clanged and suddenly Lady was yanked back from her task by the collar of her shirt. Battle instincts flaring to life, she grabbed and twisted the shadowy boot that was aimed at her ribs. Springing up into a crouching position, she gasped as she looked into the red eyes of a dark form of herself. The creature growled and pulled a gun out. Lady jumped forward grabbing the gun and pushing it upwards so that the shots fired into the ceiling. Her dark clone lashed out, catching her in the jaw with a swift punch, sending Lady flying backwards into the darkness.

Scrambling to her feet, Lady took the opportunity of the temporary distance between her and the shadow creature, and once again continued her search of a switch on the nearest shutter.

She nearly cried out in joy as her fingers found the switch, and the shutter popped open.

A cry behind her had Lady turning around instantly. Her clone was withering in pain at the light that was being cast on it. Smirking Lady pulled her gun and began firing into the creature, each bullet causing it more damage, but all to quickly it was once more standing within the darkness watching her with hatred.

Lady glared at it and then hearing a clash of swords once more, located Vergil a few feet from her. He was slowly moving backwards into the light. Deciding to help him out a bit, Lady catching sight of a small glimmer of light that was reflecting off the switch of the shutter nearest Vergil, aimed, and shot. The shutter directly beside Vergil snapped open, light beating into the shadowy clone and giving him the opportunity to slice his sword into the shadow creature.

Unexpectedly though, the creature leapt backwards into the centre of the room, joining her clone, and abruptly all the shutters within the room snapped closed sending everything into darkness.

_"Damn it!"_ Lady cried, and suddenly an arm wrapped around her waist pulling her forward.

Shocked, Lady nearly lashed out at the body beside her, but Vergil's familiar voice prevented her from doing so. _"Move!"_

Lady complied, moving forward quickly with him. Together they both stopped, as the darkness before them moved slightly and two glowing eyes looked back at them.

Both Lady and Vergil began backing up together, their bodies pressed close enough together that Lady could feel the slightly deeper breaths flowing in and out of Vergil's lungs. Placing a hand on the wall, Lady felt the closed shutters, but in the dark she couldn't see enough to find the switch quickly.

A hiss behind them had them stopping once more, and a quick glance revealed another set of red eyes. Fear crept into the pit of Lady's stomach, and she even felt Vergil's hand on her waist grip just a little tighter, at their currently helpless situation.

Then an idea struck Lady, she didn't need to be completely accurate with the switch so long as Yamato struck the entire side of the window.

Bravely grabbing a hold of Vergil's sword arm, she flicked the long katana against the side of the shutter, grinning in satisfaction as the shutter burst open expelling light onto both of their clones.

Neither hesitated to move apart and take on each other's clone so long as the light lasted.

Lady drove her knee deep into the stomach of Vergil's clone, her fingers grabbing its head and smashing it down onto her still raised knee. Then with her trusty pistol, she shot straight into the back of its head.

The clone fell to the ground and Lady emptied the rest of the pistol's clip into the creature's head, ensuring that it wasn't going to be getting up again.

There was a satisfying hiss as Vergil sheathed his sword, and Lady turned to see her clone disintegrating into her shadow once more.

An odd noise issuing from the centre of the room had both of them looking in that direction to see a blue portal open up. Neither of them hesitated as they moved quickly toward the newly opened portal, eager to put the dark room behind them. Stepping into the swirling blue mass, instantly brought them to the other side of the arch, the summit of Temen-ni-gru only feet away now.

Lady remained rooted, suddenly reluctant to mount the steps that would take them to the top of Temen-ni-gru and subsequently the gate to Hell.

_"Perhaps my brother was not such a fool in giving you such an eloquent title."_ Vergil spoke softly, and Lady looked to him in surprise. Glacial eyes melted, warmed by a look of profound admiration and grudging respect. _"Lady…"_ he spoke again, pausing as if to savour the word. _"I will not forget."_ He finished sincerely, and started up the stairs.

Lady could only stare after him so shocked was she by the uncharacteristic comment, not to mention his tone of voice. Part of her waited to hear the next scathing comment that would undo all his previous complementary words. Another part was knotted up in uncertainty.

As Vergil reached the top step, Lady suddenly realized that this was it, she'd most likely never see the cold, half demon prince again and that knowledge spurred her into action. _"Vergil!"_ She called, mounting the steps two at a time to reach him.

She hadn't really expected him to turn but he did, his eyes once more coldly regarding her. And even as she looked into those frigid blue eyes, she wondered what in tarnation she was doing? What did she expect him to do? And for that matter, why did she even care? Hadn't this been a simple means to an end? No, she realized, it had become more for the both of them even if neither could understand or perhaps wanted to understand.

_"Can I ask one last favour?"_ Lady began lamely, thinking up the only thing she could.

His eyes narrowed, _"It might be considered."_

_"My father… If its not too much, could you see to it that he makes it back here? Alive if possible, though not necessarily all in one piece."_

A smile tugged at the corner of Vergil's lips until it was a full out grin, his eyes once more shining. _"It would be a pleasure."_ Then with a small salute of his sword, he turned once more, striding forward confidently. Moments later his body was rising in a whirlwind, high up into the sky and to the gate of Hell that her father had opened.

Lady mounted the last of the steps and watched him go, wondering if she would ever meet the blue coated son of Sparda ever again. Then sitting down, she waited for him to fulfill his final promise, one she knew somehow he would keep.

----------------------

Lady opened her eyes once more and looked into the sapphire blue of Trish's eyes. "I don't know." She spoke truthfully, a hint of sadness touching her voice. Briefly glancing to Vergil, which had Trish turning her head to follow her gaze, Lady spoke again in the same tone of voice. "I doubt he would even know."

With that Lady turned, leaving a very perplexed Trish behind.

Reviewer Thanks:

BladeMaster16: Wow, so impatient! If you haven't figured it out yet… I usually update on Thursdays. I don't really want to do sooner, because I've found that if you update to soon all the time, you tend to lose readers. This way most everyone can read the newest chapter before I update again and hopefully no one really falls behind.

Kez-o the Brave: I'm rather proud of this chapter, so I'll agree with you on the getting better part. Unfortunately, it'll slow down for a bit, but I'm having trouble with the last couple of chapters. Partly cause I've lost a little of my inspiration and mostly cause I have barely even had time to sleep this last bit. 5 hours a day really doesn't cut it. But don't worry; I vow to get this story done!

As for the tea, its funny how well it can get you to fall asleep, when you're overtired and can't seem to get into la la land on your own. Dark chocolate also works really really well to help you stay awake, did you know that?

LordxxAxelxxLover: Dante is going to get a bit more evil yet. He he. Look for it in the next chapter!

The Lex and Terry Listener: Thank you very much for your continued support!

XxDawnxRiderxX: I was reading in the newspaper that it is now a proven fact that women prefer the 'bad boy'. I found that kinda cool! Anyway, how'd you like my Vergil/Lady chapter? As for the photo, I haven't quite figured that out yet. Maybe you could suggest something…

Yodel: Well, I guessed that Vergil and Dante would have a different blood type from normal humans cause or their demon blood. As to what it actually would be… I don't even really want to guess. Yeah, I couldn't resist with the camera bit, not quite sure how I'll use it yet. And no need to be sorry about the chapter 7 review. I know all to well how stupid computers can be.

Victoria (): I'm very glad that you are liking the story so far! Also, you are very right about the Chapter 3 title also being the title of an ACDC song. And you know what you're the first person to pick up on that!

ShyAnon: You know it took me the longest time to figure out whom I liked more, Dante or Vergil. Sometimes I still have issues with that. Dante is just too awesome of a character and I've always had a thing for the evil hot guy. Thus my love for Sephiroth.

Wow, I feel so great that I made you smile! Hopefully I made you smile a lot in this chapter too!

wildgirlxyz3: Yeah, this whole story is kinda redundant, but I couldn't get it out of my head so here it is. And I agree, I hate it when authors do a shity job of the mental trauma part. Unfortunately I also hate it when they overdo it. It is Vergil for pity sakes, and he's not going to moan and sob around for to long, not that Dante would allow that anyway. So I hope, for your sake, my sake, and everyone else's sake that I do a good job of it.

Also about Dante's right way and not easy way, I'm such a hard ass about always taking the road least traveled, and my life is proof of that. So glad you liked it!

dela (): Wow, guess you haven't been on Fanfiction for a while then. I've made sure to update every week for the last 9 weeks, so you can always find my story on the first page!

PS. I like your pen name! I've got a cow by that same name and she's such a doll!


	10. Given Up

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to Devil May Cry. Check chapter 2 for more information!

Author's Notes: So sorry that I didn't update on Thursday like I usually do. I've been **very** (can't stress that enough) busy and haven't been getting much sleep (a few hours here and there so that I'm getting maybe 5 hours a day) and then yesterday my heifer that I've been waiting to calve had a lot of problems. Thankfully the vet was out looking after another of my sick babies (this is what happens when I'm too busy to go and check on them. sobs) and was able to look after her. Unfortunately though her calf died because it took us 2 hours to get her out. I suppose it was a good thing though, cause the vet broke the calf's leg clean through, trying to get her out. Anyway, here's the next chapter and hope everyone enjoys!

Chapter 10: Given Up

Dante sat at his desk feeling particularly grumpy that Trish was forcing them back to work.

"We still have a business to run!" She had nagged, hands planted firmly on her hips.

Lucia, goddamn the woman, had agreed. "Yes, the bills have been coming in. They've been neglected too long. And there are still the people of this city, that depend on us to keep them safe, to consider. "

Complain though he might, Trish and Lucia had pointedly told him that if he didn't even so much as go on patrol, then they would repaint his room a really nice pink. Dante had quickly complied allowing Lady, since she was still on the injured list, take the task of keeping an eye on Vergil, not that his brother had so much as moved a muscle since they had patched him back up. But he did make a point of popping in every few hours, just to check up. It wasn't that he didn't trust Lady; it was the fact that somehow he knew when Vergil woke up, it wouldn't be pretty.

"Where's Yamato?" Lady's voice broke Dante's thoughts and he looked up at her uncomprehendingly for a moment before it registered in his brain what she wanted.

"Ah," Dante scratched his head and stood up, leaving the case file and research he was supposed to have been doing behind. "I hid it."

"Don't tell me you don't remember where you put it?" Lady frowned in displeasure.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember." He walked over towards the weapons shelf. "Why do you want it?"

"I said I would clean it remember?" She rolled her eyes, and Dante lifted Nevan from her stand.

"Oh, yeah." Dante replied and holding the tricked out guitar in one hand, pulled down the katana that had been hiding behind her on the shelf. Putting Nevan back, he held the sword lightly in his hand and slowly unsheathed a portion of it, grimacing once more as his eyes met the caked brown surface of the once fine blade.

Sheathing it once more he held it out for Lady to take. "The blade's pretty much ruined. You're probably wasting your time." He said sadly, watching as Lady reverently took his father's memento to Vergil.

"Since when do you throw weapons away?" Lady asked looking from the blade in her hands to him, one eye narrowing.

"Since they become completely unsalvageable." Dante responded with a shake of his head.

"Nothing is unsalvageable." Lucia suddenly spoke, walking into the office from the direction of the kitchen.

"And what would you know?" Dante sneered still ticked at the redhead for siding with Trish.

A dagger suddenly whipped past his face, lodging in the dartboard on the wall behind him.

"I found that dagger when I was still a child. It was covered in so much rust and dirt that I was told to just throw it away. I refused and it is my most trusted blade to this day." The red head replied with a sneer of her own.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Dante glared down at Lucia. "You sure someone didn't just take pity and replace it on you?"

Lucia returned his glare, "For those who are willing and have patience, anything is possible." Lucia turned her green gaze from Dante to regard Lady with a softer expression.

"I've got the time and the will." Lady returned, meeting Lucia's gaze steadily.

Lucia nodded, "Then I can be of help." Turning she, walked past Dante, retrieved her dagger and then joined Lady as they headed back into the kitchen.

"The ladies are right." A voice piped up from beside him.

Dante's sour frown grew as another voice followed the first. "Yes, no weapon deserves to be thrown away."

"If you two don't shut up, I'll throw you away!" Dante growled, glaring pointedly at the two multi-coloured serrated blades.

When no more sound issued from either brother, he snorted in satisfaction and returned to his desk and his work.

When he was interrupted again, it was more of a welcome relief then he let on.

"Your phone not working?" Bells jingled as the owner of the voice walked in to the office.

"Afternoon Leo." Dante spoke, not bothering to look up and flipped a page of the book he was looking over. "We've been a bit busy. Trish checked over the messages this morning but hasn't told me anything about it yet."

"Great." Leo muttered striding forward.

Leo, a young eager detective, was one of Lady's rescues a few years back. After tracking down a nasty demon in connection to his first murder case, Lady whom had luckily also been tracking the same demon had literally saved his ass and then introduced him to Dante. After a long discussion on the fact that there were actually big nasty things roaming around out there in the dark, Leo had made sure that anyone at the Devil May Cry agency was informed of any odd cases he came across, and subsequently placed them on the city's consulting fee.

"So what did you come across now?" Dante asked, finally glancing up from his work at the young detective.

Dressed in partial casual and partial formal attire, Leo responded, "We fished a body out of the Hudson two days ago."

Uninterested, Dante looked back down at his work, jotting something down on a small note pad he had next to the book and over top his case file. "Nothing unusual about that."

"Maybe not. But this one's different."

Glancing up in annoyance that he was still being interrupted; Dante twisted his lips into a look of disapproval. "Get on with it, I am busy you know."

"He's missing his brain and most internal organs." Leo garbled out quickly, not wishing to further upset the devil hunter that already seemed on a short fuse.

Dante lifted an immaculate white eyebrow, his interest perked.

"Problem was the doe had no wounds or injuries to speak of." Leo continued quickly, his fingers fishing in his tan coat to pull out a cigarette. Even though Leo had dealt with many unusual things, the poor kid still couldn't handle most of the crap thrown his way, and as a result had accumulated a nasty smoking habit.

"If Trish catches you with that thing in here, she's going to cream you and flush that whole pack." Dante smirked at the thought and pointed with his pen toward the offending object.

Flushing guiltily, Leo stuck the cigarette behind his ear. "Sorry, bad habit."

Returning to the case file in front of him, Dante questioned again. "So who's working tonight?"

It was a question Dante always asked, since he only trusted two morticians in the whole of New York, and Leo was quick to answer. "Jo."

Dante grinned and looked up again, his attention now fully focused on Leo. "Wonderful! What time do you want to meet? Ten alright?" Jo, although being a woman of the night, a bit naive and far too smart for her own good, was always a good relief from the often head strong women he worked with. Not only was she extremely good looking, but also she was often open to his charms and provided if nothing else, amusing entertainment.

"Yeah, ten works." Leo stated shoving his hands in his pockets and then glancing around as if looking for someone, as Dante snapped closed the book and case file on his desk in one swipe. "Is Lady around?"

Dante almost grimaced as he looked back up at the young sandy haired detective. "She's around somewhere." He said and waved his hand in the general vicinity of the building. "Busy cleaning weapons again."

Unfortunately for Lady, from the moment she had rescued Leo's life he had developed a huge crush on her. Perhaps more unfortunately, Lady hadn't given the young detective the same reception she gave all other male suitors. Whether it was simply because Lady hadn't the heart to tell him off or that she simply enjoyed the new easy access she had to the police force's firing range – something she was loathe to give up – or something else altogether, Dante was still trying to figure out. What he did not enjoy was having Lady moan and gripe about the fact that Leo was constantly trying to ask her out.

"Oh," Leo's face fell.

"Did you want to leave her a message?" Dante asked politely, gathering up his file and passing another notepad and pen to Leo.

"Thanks," Leo said, scribbling down a quick message. "Hey?" he spoke again. "Man to man, what does Lady really like? I mean she's turned down just about everything I can think of except the firing range and that's just well… not romantic."

The demon within Dante grinned in evil mischief, and for once he willing indulged it, deciding to kill more than a few birds with one stone. Outwardly keeping a caring and thoughtful face, Dante carefully looked around the office, searching for any one of the girl's, if they found out what he intended to do with poor Leo, Trish would have him doing all the chores for the next year, and that was simply not acceptable.

"Well…" Dante paused, eyeing Leo with feigned reluctance. "You'd have to promise to not tell anyone."

"Oh, sure!" Leo exclaimed excitedly, eager and willing to walk straight into Dante's trap.

The demon in Dante grinned even bigger, if such a thing were possible, and Dante had the slight impression it was even rubbing its scaly hands together in glee.

Still making sure to keep his face devoid of any of his true emotions, Dante beckoned his prey closer. "She loves bunnies." In truth Lady, and Trish to boot, hated the cute little hippity hops. After a really nasty encounter with a demonic rabbit, both Lady and Trish couldn't even so much as look at a bunny, regardless of the size, without shuddering.

"Really." Leo breathed and ripping off the note he had just written, jotted down everything Dante told him on a clean sheet of the notepad.

"She's also a sucker for romantic songs and lots of attention. So here's what you do…" Dante imparted his plan to Leo, whispering into the young man's ear and carefully glancing around the room every so often for one of his female companions. "But," Dante finished wisely, inwardly grinning like some kid on crack. "You've got to wait at least a week before doing all this. Lady got all banged up last time out and she won't be as appreciative until she's healed up."

Leo nodded quickly. "Yes, yes of course. Thanks Dante!" He grinned happily and taking his notes, waved and trotted back out the front door.

When he was gone, Dante let the Cheshire grin that he had been holding in, emerge, giving him a truly demonic look. If Leo followed his plan to the t, which he most likely would, then Dante was sure it would finally cause Lady to build up enough courage to tell the kid off, and if Vergil was finally awake by then, which he was also sure would happen, then it was exactly the type of cruel joke that his twin would truly appreciate.

Dante snickered to himself and set off to find Trish and hand over his current case to her, in favour of the new one.

Trish reluctantly took the case file and under pain of more chores Dante got to work on the new one, which thankfully for him panned out, minimizing his chores. Two days later, and hot on the case of the Brain-Eater demon – he currently had nothing else to call the creature, having found no reference in any of his books and having yet to actually see it – Dante tiredly climbed the stairs up to his room. Pausing at the top of the stairs to glance in the direction of Vergil's room, he promptly decided to check in on his comatose brother.

In the last two days, Dante had done minimal hovering over Vergil's bedside. Not that it mattered; his twin hadn't even so much as batted an eyelash to even signify that he might possibly wake up. If it hadn't been for Trish and Bobby adamantly protesting such a thing, Dante would have shaken Vergil awake long ago. As it stood now, Trish and Bobby had taken most of the stitches out of Vergil, leaving only the grievous wound in his chest stitched up.

Entering into the room, Dante looked over his twin from afar.

"He hasn't moved, if that's what your wondering?" Lady's voice spoke up from beside him, surprising Dante.

He looked down to where she was sitting beside the door with her back to the wall.

Yamato was stretched out over her knees as she sat cross-legged on the floor, with all of her cleaning supplies spread around her in a half circle. "How's it going?" Dante asked pulling a hand through his hair.

"Good." She replied, and held up the katana for inspection when Dante reached his hand down for it.

He looked the blade critically over. Blood still clung to the portion of the blade just below the hilt and about half way down the blade itself. Undoubtedly they were also the parts that had received the most friction with Vergil's flesh, and as a result not only was the blood thickest on these parts, but the metal had also become corroded.

"It's taking awhile to get all of the blood off. But I'm most concerned about the damaged metal." Lady spoke thoughtfully, a tinge of sadness in her voice. For as long as she had been watching over Vergil, she had been working on Yamato, gaining a new appreciation for the once fine blade.

"It should be alright." Dante mused, running a thumb carefully over the corroded metal.

"We'll just use my whet stone in the shop and sharpen it out. It'll be just as good as new." Dante smiled encouragingly down at Lady and passed the blade back.

Lady nodded and was about to say her thanks when a groan had them both whipping their heads in Vergil's direction.

A frown creased Vergil's forehead as his eyelids fluttered. His fingers moved slightly, and Dante moved to his brother's side while Lady gripped the pistol that she had placed near her knee and rose.

"Vergil?" Dante questioned, placing a hand on Vergil's bare shoulder.

Stormy grey eyes, that even now disturbed Dante to no end, flickered open.

Bending down to look his twin directly in the eye, Dante smiled. "Hey there. You had us worried bro."

Vergil breathed slowly, his eyes closing and opening slowly.

"How you feeling?" Dante asked softly, trying to get his twin to respond.

Lady fidgeted uncertainly behind Dante, and suddenly Vergil's eyes went wide. He moved into a quick sitting position, his hand simultaneously reaching out and grabbing

Dante pulled him across the bed, behind him. Or at least would have if he had had the strength to do so.

"Dante move! I won't let her kill you! Not this time!" Fear strained through Vergil's rough voice, shocking Dante more than any thing else. His brother had never been afraid!

"Hey, Verge, it's alright. No one's going to kill me." Dante soothed softly, beckoning to Lady to drop her weapon.

She complied, setting the pistol back down on the ground.

Vergil's haunted eyes flickered from Lady to Dante and then back again.

"See," Dante stated softly, placing his hand over his brother's, which was still clutching his coat in a death like grip. "Its alright. No one is going to hurt any one else here."

"You dropped the gun." Vergil breathed out in disbelief, his voice so soft that Dante barely heard it. "You never put your gun down. Not once."

"Maybe that's cause I don't need it anymore." Lady returned softly, her voice calm and controlled, though the look on her face was one of pity.

Vergil shook his head. "This is real."

"What made you think it wasn't?" Dante asked, keeping his voice in the same soothing tones.

Vergil didn't answer for a while as his mind tried to process what it was all going through. Suddenly his grip on Dante tightened and he shuddered, bursting into huge wracking sobs a second later.

"Hey, its alright." Dante soothed patting his brother gently on his back, careful to not touch the wound.

Feeling just a little uncomfortable, Dante steeled himself and pulled his brother into a tight embrace, remembering how after their mother's death, it had been Vergil to provide the exact same comfort. "Its alright, Verge, your safe now." Dante continued to soothe, barely paying any attention to Lady, as she grabbed her pistol and Yamato and exited as quietly as she could.

Dante was thankful for that, and promised himself to thank Lady for her kindness at the first chance he got. Focusing on Vergil, he continued to comfort his twin with both his voice and his body as Vergil continued to sob into his chest.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed there with his brother clutching to his chest, but slowly Vergil's sobs lessened and after a time he pulled away, facing away with his arms around his knees.

"You alright now?" Dante asked, watching Vergil critically.

"You shouldn't have brought me here." Vergil stated, his voice still heavy with his tears.

"Safest place there is." Dante stated proudly.

Vergil only shook his head. "No where is truly safe. Not from Mundus. You should have left me. I don't belong here."

"Bah." Dante growled, suddenly angry with his brother. "I've beat Mundus before, and I've half a mind to go tell him what I think of his service. As for leaving you there… that wasn't going to happen. You might not want to believe it but you belong here! And not in some shity hell hole, with some demon bitches using you for a free meal."

Vergil grimaced at that, his eyes closing as fresh tears tracked their way down his cheeks.

"Hell may have been our father's home at one point. But in the end, it wasn't his home and it sure as heck wasn't ours." Dante continued, and then placing a hand on Vergil's shoulder squeezed it lightly. "Home is where your heart is. And I know your heart well enough to know that it's not all cold and black."

Vergil said nothing for a long time, and Dante just sat near his brother, for once in his life simply maintaining a silent comforting presence.

A heavy sigh pulled its way through Vergil's frame and he softly spoke again. "How long has it been?"

"Since Temen-ni-gru or Mallet?" Dante asked, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back against the headboard of the bed.

"Does it matter?" Vergil asked, not looking toward his brother.

"Suppose not. Almost seven years give or take a couple of months." Dante replied.

"Seven years." Vergil murmured softly. "So much time lost."

"Sure. The humans keep going about their stuff, regardless of what's going on in other worlds."

"What has all happened?" Vergil asked, his eyes closing once again as if dreading Dante's answer.

"Plenty!" Dante took in a deep breath, ready to deliver an extensive answer. "Some fruit cake named George Bush is in charge of the country. Went and declared a 'war on terror' in Iraq and Afghanistan after the World Trade Towers got demolished here in New York. Jeez. You have no idea what kinda mess that was. Man, the demons thought it was a fiesta or something and you ever try to get rid of a ghost that has its body buried beneath tons of steel and concert, not to mention if said body is still in one piece.

"Sadam Hussein was executed. Though you probably knew about that already, since I'm sure Mundus would have been gloating about his new toy. No… Hmm." Dante finished at a shake of Vergil's head.

"Anyway, where was I? Ah, Paris Hilton went to jail."

"Who?" Vergil questioned, glancing back at his brother in confusion.

"Oh, guess she must have come on the scene after you took a noise dive into Hell. Ah well." Dante shrugged and continued. "The Red Sox finally won the World Series, officially braking the curse of the bambino.

"Hmm… Everyone is freaking out about global warming. Though if any of them knew that demons were around they'd probably forget all about that.

"The Spice Girls are back together and planning a reunion tour." Dante couldn't help but grin as a visible shudder traced up Vergil's spine, reminding him of his brother's previous hatred for the British born song stresses. "And…" Dante drew out, saving what he thought the best for last. "They have made a live action Transformers movie!"

"Impossible." Vergil stated with a frown, having become more interested as Dante spoke.

"Improbable. Not impossible. You should see all that the movie and video game industry's can do now! The graphics are incredible! They've made Spiderman movies, X-men, Ghost Rider, etc. etc. etc.!" Dante grinned slyly and leaned forward whispering in Vergil's ear. "Maybe me and you can convince the girls to go with us and watch Starscream and Optimus kick some ass, hmm?"

Vergil shook his head and sighed. "I suppose I should feel comforted that some things will just never change."

Dante frowned sadly, leaning back once more. "That's the thing though Verge, some things do. You choosing to stay in Hell changed me. Meeting Lady, then Trish and finally Lucia changed me. I'm not quite the same ol' fun and games little brother that used to annoy the crap out of you."

"Something tells me though that you aren't quite that different." Vergil spoke softly, closing his eyes once more.

"I try to put on a good show. If I walked around all depressed all the time, I'd be no good to anyone cause no one would stick around. I mean, man, I've got three gorgeous women living with me and nothing to show for it. Lady keeps sticking bullets in my head. Trish some days just likes to see how much she can get me to do. And Lucia sometimes likes to take a look at my insides, and not in a good way."

The smallest snort issued from Vergil. "It seems you've found ways of replacing me."

Slowly he sank back into the bed, jolting up and moving to his side when his back touched the mattress.

Dante shook his head sadly. "Nothing could replace you. You're my brother, and no matter what, nothing will change that. Lady, Lucia and Trish have become part of my family, but you were a part of it first." Dante intoned sincerely, pulling the sheet up over Vergil's body and tucked it gently around his shoulders. "Get some good sleep. I'll stay here and when you wake up you'll see everything will be all right." Dante placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and leaned back against the headboard once more. "Trish will make us some tasty strawberry pancakes, with some nice soft bacon, all drizzled with some maple syrup. And everything will be ok." Dante yawned, knowing Vergil was already asleep by the soft sound of his breathing. He smiled and fell asleep dreaming of all the wonderful things Trish could whip up in the kitchen.

Reviewer Thanks:

The Lex and Terry Listener: Very glad you liked the last chapter. But yes, I did know that the title of my story is the same name as a Linkin Park song, it's why I chose it. And as you've probably already figured out, so is this chapter.

LordxxAxelxxLover: Good I'm glad you found that Vergil and Lady were both in character; I worked hard to make sure that they were. As for Dante being more evil… were you frightened?

BladeMaster16: Yeah, the sarcastic, cold, evil guys are the most awesome and well put together characters there are. The creators spend time with their heroes too, but they seem to put more work into the characters that aren't necessarily the nicest people. Raistlin, Sephiroth and Vergil being good examples of this.

Lady Luce: Yeah, it's been two chapters. I was a little worried that something happened to you, although I do understand very well that life doesn't always allow us the time to just sit down at the computer. And I'm glad you liked Dante's reaction, I want to try to stay away from the common as much as possible, despite the fact that the story idea has been done hundreds of times before, as well as keeping Dante, Vergil, Lady, etc. in character as much as possible. I really hate stories were they make them out to be all lovey dovey. As for Lady getting up the tower, I really think Capcom should have spent more time with that. I mean, she gave Dante her rocket launcher, which was really her only climbing tool and then she did look up when Vergil passed her. What's to say she didn't get up and say 'Hey!' Since other than that, how the heck was she supposed to get up all those stupid cubes! And I'm glad that you liked Vergil/Lady, even though you usually don't. I on the other hand am a sucker for them.

Kez-o the Brave: Well, I think I've figured it out, of course because of my busyness, I've resorted to writing with paper and a pencil while I'm waiting for the stupid train, or when someone else is driving. But anyway, originally I was only going to do 13 chapters, but one of my friends that is also reading it and who I tend to bounce ideas off of, told me "You didn't give Vergil his sword back! You CAN'T finish the story before you give him back his sword!" So now I think there will be 15!

Dela (): Hey, don't worry about it! I know the meaning of busy!!

XxDawnxRiderxX: Yeah, Vergil can be a gentleman every so often. Course he'll usually off set that with a nasty comment eventually. I like you're idea with the photo, unfortunately I can't see how to work it into my story. But I have figured out how Dante can use it, and might keep your idea and then work it into a sequel, if I ever get that far.

IceCamaro: Well, it seems you and I think alike when it comes to Vergil. And I have to agree that most authors do seem to forget that while being mostly nasty and cold, also has an odd sense of fairness and honour. And unfortunately because most seem to either forget that he is capable of being nice or go overboard on the niceness, I usually tend to stop reading their story. Though you have no idea how your words made me proud of my work! Thank you very very much!!

Bourriquette: You know a lot of people say that about Dante, but yet it clearly states in the first game manual that he takes jobs like that. Anyway, I'm heavily influenced by Supernatural as well, and since Dean reminds me quite a bit of Dante, it just worked. LOL! And isn't that true! Bring Dante pizza and he'll love you forever!

Yodel: Yup, if Lady and Dante work well together, than you should see how well Vergil and Lady work together… that is only when the going gets tough, otherwise they'd just be at each others throats. I had that heart getting stolen thing to when I first say Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7, I've actually never beat the game again, because I simply can't bring myself to kill him again. Well, Vergil's awake now! What'd you think! And did you catch my references?

Nishiko-chan: Well I wanted to keep it as believable as possible, because stories just aren't very good if there is no base for realism. Hopefully, you've got something to say for this chapter as well, but if you don't… I'll understand.

SoDesuKa: I like how you interjected Vergil and Dante into your review and sorry about the long update, though I fear it may get longer yet before I'm done. I really need some good long sleep!


	11. Coffee Break

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to Devil May Cry. Check chapter 2 for more information!

Chapter 11: Coffee Break

First Lady hid Yamato in her room, fairly certain that Vergil would not invade her privacy even in search of his precious sword. Then she quietly headed downstairs to find both Lucia and Trish sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee.

"Vergil's awake." Lady stated taking a seat at the table as both women looked up at her questionably. "Dante's with him."

Trish shook her head. "I thought I told him to get some sleep. That bugger's been running around here for days. Either grumping about his case or the fact that his brother is still out cold." She complained bitterly, picking up her coffee and drinking the rest down in one gulp.

Lucia, whom had the morning paper in front of her, even though it was nearing mid day, replied softly. "He's a right to be worried. From what I've gathered his case is only gaining him more bodies and little else, and as for Vergil… It is simply unheard of for any half demon to be out for that long regardless of what's happened to them."

Lady shook her head and getting up went to the fridge pulling out a beer before returning to her chair. "You don't know what Vergil's been through. I don't think all of it was physical, and regardless, seven years is a long time to be tortured."

"What else do you think it was?" Trish asked, looking at Lady with interest.

"When he woke up he said something about protecting Dante and not letting me kill him 'again'. He said something similar in Hell when Jester tried to kill me. Then he said that this was real, as if he didn't believe it himself." Lady mused, taking a swig of her beer.

Trish frowned in thoughtful concern. "Mundus was probably feeding him visions or nightmares in an attempt to break his spirit."

Lady and Lucia nodded in unison.

"That would make sense." Lady spoke. "Good thing the Sparda boys are too damned stubborn to give in."

"It's obviously affected him though." Lucia stated, folding her newspaper neatly and then rising, poured herself and Trish more coffee.

Trish dumped some sugar and cream into her fresh cup and swirling it all together with a spoon, replied. "He's lucky though, in more ways than one. Any longer and who knows what would have become of him."

Lady nursed the beer in her hands contemplatively before answering again. "Right now, he's no different than his sword. But with a little time and work… maybe we can fix him up like new."

"Do we really want that though?" Lucia asked resuming her chair. "I mean, from what I understand he wasn't the sort to be too inclined in helping humans. If anything he was one to take lives and not protect them."

Lady shook her head angrily. "No! Vergil's not like that. Not really. He's just…" she paused trying to formulate her thoughts. Why was she trying to defend him? The bastard had raised Temen-ni-gru and almost brought Hell to earth. So why did she suddenly feel so inclined to protect him?

"Complicated." She finished lamely.

Both Trish and Lucia stared at her as if she'd gone insane.

Trish was the first to recover; setting the coffee mug that had been inches from her lips, back down on the table. "I don't understand this! Ever since Dante told us that Vergil was alive, you've been acting differently! Yet you refuse to tell us anything of what happened between the two of you in Temen-ni-gru!" she said in frustrated tones.

"Yes. For someone who constantly proclaims her hatred for demons of all sorts, you seem to have a soft spot for Dante's twin." Lucia agreed.

Lady frowned, upset that she had to defend herself against two people who were supposed to be her best friends. "I told you I don't know what happened in Temen-ni-gru. And I do not have a soft spot for Vergil. I owe him. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Sure." Trish rolled her eyes in complete disbelief. "That's not what your face says every time you look at him."

"Nor the tone of your voice every time you speak of him." Lucia added, nodding her head.

Lady's frown deepened, if such a thing were possible. God, they were ganging up on her! Now she had a distinct feeling of how Dante often felt. "That's a bunch of baloney, and…"

"Is it?" Trish interrupted, frowning herself now. "If you would stop being so damned stubborn for one minute and just tell us what happened then maybe we can help you understand why it happened!"

Lucia sipped her coffee once more and added. "We are just trying to help you, Lady. And is that not what friends do?"

Feeling suddenly very guilty, Lady rolled the neck of the beer bottle around in her hand, gazing into the dark liquid. Sighing, she finally responded. "Alright." To the best of her ability Lady recounted her experience with Vergil in the tower of Temen-ni-gru, while Trish and Lucia listened with apt attention.

When Lady finished, Lucia got up and replenished both her and Trish's coffee, also bringing Lady a new bottle of beer from the fridge.

Silence filled the kitchen as both Trish and Lucia sat thoughtfully digesting Lady's story. Lucia was first to speak. "You love him."

The statement had a quick reaction of denial from Lady. "I do not! I don't 'love' demons!"

"Sure!" Trish laughed. "You keep telling us that and maybe someday we will believe you."

Chuckling, Lucia agreed. "You do realize you are talking to two people whom have not only become your friends and family, but also carry demon blood in them. Not to mention one white haired moron currently residing upstairs with his brother, that you do seem to enjoy saving as much as you enjoy sticking bullets in him."

Lady flushed red and rose from her chair, her temper flaring. "You two and Dante are different! You work at preserving human life and ridding this world of demons! Vergil could care less for humans, and if anything, wouldn't mind seeing more demons in this world! I owe him though! And I for one will not let a debt go unpaid! Soon as he's got all his marbles in working order again, he'll be no different than any other demon that I stamp my foot on!" With a final snarl, Lady took her beer bottle and left the kitchen out through the back, undoubtedly heading for Dante's shop to unleash her anger on getting out all the dirt stains on her bike.

Trish shook her head as she heard the back door slam. "How long do you think it will take her to come around to our idea?"

Lucia shrugged, sipping her coffee. "Hard to say. She does still insist that when the world is rid of demons and all the gates to Hell are eternally closed, she'll kill Dante."

Snorting, Trish stirred her coffee once more. "Like that's ever going to happen."

"You said it." With that Lucia opened the newspaper once more and continued reading.

Reviewer Thanks:

SoDesuKa: Thank you for understanding and hopefully you are still surviving. I've been writing my new chapters in a notebook, so that I don't have to take extra time waiting for the computer to boot up, unfortunately I could have kicked myself the other day for forgetting it at home, cause I had to wait a good 20 minutes for a dumb train!

Lady Luce: Nah… Dante can't really ever win against the girls. It is 3 against 1 after all, though if Vergil ever recovers maybe he'll have a better chance! Then again, maybe not since Vergil seems to be the kind of sibling that would enjoy seeing his brother in harmless misery.

I'm also very glad that I'm doing a good job with my OC's, I do oh so hate it when authors simply make every OC into a Mary-sue type character and hate it even more when they do every thing and any thing to stay away from it. OC's can be vibrant characters if you give them time and enough personality, flaws included, to work with so that they too can be enjoyed.

I had to get the movie thing in there cause I love movies too much not too, except chick flicks and pointless horror movies… I can't STAND those!

Yeah, there's a lot that happened in Vergil's visions and I'm not sure how I'm going to include them into the story, if at all, since Vergil isn't the type to readily talk about them, so maybe I'll just leave it for every one to guess at.

Thanks too for your sympathy. I really appreciate it. My animals do take up a lot of my time and I tend to think of them all as my babies, so when something bad happens to them I always end up feeling like there was something I should have done differently or maybe if I had been a little quicker at noticing the problem then they would have been all right. Unfortunately, not a lot of people look at it that way, and most think I'm silly for doing so. Well, anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was more of a filler than anything.

LordxxAxelxxLover: Yeah, Vergil is finally awake! Although, it didn't last long… and yeah, Lady is really gonna string Dante up next to his demon heads (wall decorations) for this one! LOL!

XxDawnxRiderxX: I absolutely loved the Transformers movie too!!! If I had enough time and money I would have gone to see it every week that it's been in theatre. As it is, every time there is nothing on TV and my Dad asks what movie we should put in, we both end up looking at each other and say "Transformers!" LOL! My mom would end up sitting there telling us to 'shut up' cause she hadn't seen it yet. Now she has and we all do it! And yes, I couldn't resist… There will be lots of Transformers references in this story! Vergil and Dante strike me as the type of kids that would have run around playing with them giving their mom a headache. And don't worry Dante will definitely get in trouble; Lady's going to kill him yet!

Yodel: I tried to remember all the big world news for Dante to give Vergil a heads up about, but I'm sure I missed some. Anyway, I don't think Vergil ever really hated Dante and vice-versa… There have been plenty of times that I could have killed my sister and on some occasions we did try, but we still do love each other, so I use my own experiences as a sibling to work with Vergil and Dante, though I do know twins are a bit different, but I'm sure its not that different. Well, Lady is also a big girl that can take care of herself, I'm sure she would be very upset to have Dante interfere with her life, and she will kill him yet for his evil prank!

The Lex and Terry Listener: Yeah, I hate always having to login in too. It's such a pain in the ass and it sometimes keeps me from reviewing if the author has the anonymous reviews off and I really don't feel like signing in. Anyway, I'm glad you like my writing, I hate writing chapters that just don't flow right, and consequently most of those chapters get scraped.

wildgirlxyz3: Yeah, I hinted a lot about what happened with Vergil's torture, but didn't include all of it. I hinted a little bit to it also in the chapter where they're getting back out of Hell and Vergil wakes up to see Lady, the only thing that there he was far to weak and could barely move much less try to help Lady out against Jester. As for Dante and Vergil's relationship as brothers, I'm taking a lot of my ideas from my own feelings and experiences with my sister. We don't always like each other, but in the end we do love each other, and I think it's the same for Dante and Vergil.

Dela (): Yeah, Vergil and Dante's love/hate relationship, I love writing it!

ShyAnon: Jeez, that reminds me of an 'On The Lot' episode! So did you have fun on your vacation? Yeah, Vergil was never 100 evil and I have to agree with you, I hope that Capcom works with that idea at some point in time, though I'm not much liking how Dante is looking like a bad guy in DMC 4. It would be very wrong!

You know I totally forgot about that Buffy thing! So that's definitely not where I got the idea. As for Dante, that idea I got a little bit from Cronk (Emperor's New Groove) and the fact that Dante is normally kinda against his demon half, but there's got to be some times that he lets it have a little bit of its way, otherwise he might have gone insane by now!

Yeah, I like Vergil and Lady together much more than Dante and Lady. I can see them being very compatible cause in some sense they are very much alike and in other senses they are very opposite. I kinda look at it as, Lady warms Vergil up with her fiery personality and Vergil cools her off with his icy disposition.

As for Vergil, like I said I'm getting a lot of ideas about how to interact the twins from how I interact with my sister. But I've been trying to make sure that I keep in mind both games for working with Vergil's personality, though I'm sure he was absolutely not happy as Nelo Angelo.

Satanic Park Of Madness: Thank you very much for your review! I enjoy knowing that all my hard work with Dante and Vergil is paying off and that I'm keeping them in character. But don't worry; it's not as hard as I make it out to be either. I feel like I understand them, and Dante doesn't seem to want to shut up in my head. The only characters I really have trouble with are Trish and Lucia.

Don't worry either; Trish and Vergil will interact when he wakes up again. Look for it in the next chapter. I also agree with you, Dante and Trish are pretty compatible too if done right. But I don't think I'll really get into that.

I've also got this story for the most part, penned out. It's just getting it on the computer and then updating… life doesn't always help me out with those parts, particularly since my comp is extremely slow!


	12. Given Up Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to Devil May Cry. Check chapter 2 for more information!

Author's Note: Most of this chapter has been betaed, except for the flashback, which was a last minute addition. Thus if you see any mistakes, forgive me and please let me know about them so that they can be corrected! Thank you!

Chapter 12: Given Up Part 2

Vergil woke to a dull ache in his chest. It wasn't entirely unusual, he was used to it by now, but for a change it wasn't quite as sharp. Another oddity was the absence of the nightmares, though it was only a matter of time before they returned; they always returned. Mundus had, on a few occasions, allowed Vergil's mind a break. And how he had hoped, even prayed, that that would be the last of them. Unfortunately, they would always return with increasing vividty, each time only serving to further destroy Vergil's sense of time and reasoning.

He listened quietly for his hated roommates and subsequent torturers. Ever since his youth he had never allowed any one to touch him with out explicit permission. Even in the throws of lovemaking – though it had always been far to raw and unemotional to ever be called that – he had never allowed his partner to touch him. He had loved that control over his human lovers, and been fascinated and slightly disgusted in how easy it was to control them, all so eager just to have their own sexual pleasures fulfilled by him. But now, Mundus had turned the tables, forcing Vergil to be only a spectator to the succubus' pleasurable torments. At first he had fought, unwilling to sit idlely by as the demonic women used his body for their own pleasures, but then as they slowly drained his blood and shoved aphrodisiacs down his throat, his body had slowly begun to respond to their administrations, much to Vergil's own horror. That loss of control had been worse than any of the other of hundreds of painful tortures Mundus could have derived. As a result, Vergil retreated into himself, using his mind as a sanctuary to keep himself from living through the hatred and shame of his physical torments. Then the nightmares came, invading even that peaceful sanctuary. Nightmares of the past, of his mother's death, and nightmares of the future, sometimes the death of his brother, sometimes the death of Lady and even still sometimes his own death at their hands. But still Vergil refused to give up the thing about himself that he considered most precious, the one part of his human heritage that he didn't loathe… his free willed soul. So, no longer able to fight, he simply endured. But one can endure only so long, and Vergil knew, without a doubt, that he would give in, and that day was steadily approaching. Part of him felt relieved, another part mourned, and the last and still strongest part refused to let it happen.

He was surprised however, when his hearing did not pick up the multiple sounds of breathing, nor the odd moan, but only caught the muffled sound of heavy metal music.

Slowly and cautiously, Vergil opened his eyes to look at a dully-painted wall and a window with a dark blind drawn shut. He was also no longer sitting, but lying on a soft bed covered by a thin sheet. What sort of game was Mundus playing now?

Mindful of his still painful back, Vergil slowly turned over to face the opposite direction, giving him an idea of the barren but spacious room he was in. Facing the door now, Vergil was hit by the familiarity of the door and dug through his tattered memories until he located the reason for the familiarity. Ah, he had woken up before to find both Dante and Lady standing near that door.

"So this is real." Vergil whispered softly, still not sure if he really believed it.

The music got a bit louder as the sound of another door opening reached Vergil's ears. Another quick search of his memory, and he was able to identify the song as 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica.

"Trish! Have you seen that box that had all my old junk in it?" Dante's voice called over top of the music from the other side of Vergil's closed door.

Vergil tensed and waited for his brother to enter the room, but it never happened.

There was a muffled response that Vergil didn't catch before Dante's voice sounded again. "Yeah, I looked there!"

Another muffled response followed, and then Vergil heard his brother's footsteps moving away from the door. "But no, I didn't check there!"

For a long time Vergil didn't move, waiting and dreading the return of his brother. What if this still was only another dream?

Eventually two sets of footsteps approaching reached Vergil's ears and he quickly forced himself to relax and closing his eyes feigned sleep once more.

"Well, its good that he at least woke up." A male voice spoke from the other side of the door. "How long did you say he was awake for?"

"Dante never really said. Though probably only about an hour." A female voice responded.

"Well, at least there is progress. Have the rest of you being getting any rest?"

"For the most part. Only Dante's been trying out the insomnia thing the last couple of days. Though he did sleep for the better part of the day yesterday. Woke up just in time for supper."

A deep chuckle issued, as the man spoke once more. "Ah, just like any man."

"Well, not every man. Vergil is still sleeping."

"Hmm. Yes." The male voice sobered quickly. "What was it that happened to him? I know I told Dante I was better off not knowing, but… perhaps if you just left out the details."

"He was tortured."

"Well, that explains much. For how long?"

"Too long." Came the soft sad reply from the woman.

There was a rustling as the male voice spoke again. "Here. When you feel he is well enough, take him to this colleague of mine."

"I don't think a psychiatrist will be able…"

"Don't worry. He knows quite a bit about the supernatural. Had a few run ins with ghosts himself and had to listen to me prattle on about my life and death experience with that poltergeist."

"Yes, well this is considerably different than simple ghosts or poltergeists, but I'll tell Dante about it."

"That's all I ask. Now why don't we have a look at our patient?"

The door creaked open and Vergil had the sudden urge to open his eyes, but refrained from doing so.

Moments later a gentle hand ran along the length of his forearm, followed by the whispered voice of the man. "He is healing quite nicely."

There was no response and Vergil could only assume that the woman simply nodded.

The cool gentle hand, so different from anything he had felt within the last number of years, moved from his arm to his chest.

"Should we wake him?" The woman asked, keeping her voice low.

"No." The man answered softly. "Let him sleep for as long as he can. This type of restful sleep will help both his mind and body heal."

There was a shuffling of sound and Vergil felt something cold slip against his chest and over his wound, causing an involuntary hiss of pain.

"Well, hello." Vergil opened his eyes to look at the black man standing by his bedside.

He didn't respond instead flickering his eyes to the second person within the room. Vergil's breath caught in his throat, now he knew without a doubt that this was only another sick nightmare of Mundus' in an attempt to break him.

_-----------------_

_"Mommy, I'm scared."_ Dante cried from beside Vergil as the door shuddered another time.

Shrieks, howls, snarls and growls of the horrific creatures prowling about their house met Vergil's hearing, and he shivered – at the tender age of eight he was not yet too proud to admit to himself that he was terrified. He looked to his mother's slight frame standing before them watching the door quietly, a short sword gripped in her white knuckled hand.

She turned toward them at Dante's plea, her blonde hair seeming like flame in the dim lights of their small house. Fingering the amulet around her neck, she suddenly knelt before them, pulling the silver and gold chain from around her neck.

_"I know Dante."_ She soothed, and then pulled the amulet apart in her hands so that it was in its original two halves. _"Here, why don't you two hold on to this for me? That way you don't have to be so scared."_

She placed first the gold-chained half over Vergil's head and then lowered the silver chain over Dante's head.

_"Is it powerful, mommy?"_ Dante asked looking down at the amulet in his hand.

_"Of course it is, sweetie."_ She soothed again, gently ruffling Dante's platinum mop of hair. _"It will give you strength and help you be brave even in the darkest of times and most dangerous of places. But because it is so special you have to protect it and never let anyone else ever have it."_ Then she gently tucked the amulet beneath Dante's sweater.

Vergil wanted to scoff at such a ludicrous idea, but as the door violently quaked on its hinges again, he was all too happy to accept his mother's story and quickly tucked his half of the amulet beneath his sweater. Looking to his twin once more, Vergil found him sobbing in fear, and although he wanted very much to do the same, he was the elder. It was his job to be stronger, to be the rock that his little brother could hide behind. It had also been the last thing his father had told him before leaving them barely a year ago.

_"You're the man of the house now Vergil."_ The great warrior Sparda had stood before his son, with a grin of confidence on his face, as if he were only going out on a hunt again. _"Look after your mother and little brother for me. I know I can count on you."_

Vergil remember how much pride his father's trust had given him, and now he held his tears back, determined to not let his mighty father down, and met his mother's blue gaze steadily.

His mother's beautiful face fell at his look and then as tears dripped from her eyes she pulled him into a tight embrace, which he quickly returned, gripping to her as a drowning man might have to a life raft.

_"My brave, brave boy."_ She murmured into his ear tenderly. _"Just like your father."_ She pulled back slightly and wiped a stray tear from his face. _"But it's alright to be scared sometimes."_ She then hugged him close again.

_"Mom."_ Vergil whispered, somehow knowing that this was one of the last times he would ever feel safe again.

Dante all of a sudden flung himself onto the both of them, wailing almost pitifully. _"Mommy! Don't leave us!"_

At other times Dante's behaviour would have annoyed Vergil to no end, but at the moment, with the growls and shrieks of creatures he could only imagine in his worst nightmares, echoing just outside the walls of their house, Dante's grief was contagious and Vergil could feel his tears rolling steadily down his face, a knot of agony threatening to choke him. He clung to his mother and his brother, and prayed to any superior power, entity or God that his great, powerful father would walk in through the door any minute and save them all from these horrors.

The minutes wore on and nothing happened, until once again the door shook so violently that Vergil was sure he could hear the popping of the stressed wood. His mother looked over her shoulder and then slowly detached her two eight-year-old sons from her body.

Once more she wiped Vergil's tears from his face. _"Take your brother now and hide in the pantry. At the first chance you get… run to Mrs. Labelle's house. Is that understood?"_ she asked sternly, her eyes narrowing in a look that demanded absolute obedience.

_"But Mom, we can help!"_ Vergil cried, how could he make his father proud if he was running away and leaving his mother behind?

_"Yeah,"_ Dante nodded in agreement, always willing to follow his big brother.

_"NO!"_ Their mother ordered angrily, tears streaming from her eyes, she angrily swept them away. _"You will do exactly what you've been told. You run to Mrs. Labelle and you don't look back. Is that clear?"_

Vergil nodded complacently, never one to go against his parents; he left that to his rebellious brother. _"Yes, Mom."_

_"Good. Now go. And remember no matter what anyone ever tells you… your mother and father loved you and are proud!"_ She told them firmly, and then picked up the sword that she had placed on the ground when she had knelt, from beside her and slowly rose to her feet.

Vergil took Dante's hand in his, and quickly pulled his twin along, finally shoving him inside the pantry and closing the gridded door behind them. He then looked back to his mother to see her put a hand to her lips and blow them a kiss. With that she turned back toward the door, just in time to witness it splinter and fall apart into pieces.

_"Mommy."_ Dante whimpered, and Vergil clamped his hand over his brother's mouth, instinctively knowing that any sound would instantly give their position away to the darkness now flooding in through the broken doorway.

Dante struggled momentarily, but then abruptly stopped as his eyes widened in fear and he watched the entrance of a large dark clad demon.

The demon's huge horns curled about his head, complementing the sharp sinister face, blood red eyes and sadistic grin. The demon was dressed head to foot in grotesque black armour that had Vergil and Dante pull back from the pantry door as much as they possibly could in horror.

_"Well, well, Eva. We finally meet. An honour, I assure you."_ The demon's deep voice grated further on Vergil's already strained nerves.

_"Brakus. I've heard so much about you. Too bad it's not a pleasure."_ Eva sneered, holding her ground as more of the darkness flowed around her forming hideous creatures with slobbering gapping mouths.

The demon lord chuckled, _"Now, now. No need to be rude."_ Then slowly his great head moved from side to side, his gaze roving over the kitchen.

As those red eyes passed over the pantry, Vergil tried to press himself and Dante even further back, fearing that some how they would be seen.

_"So where are the brats?"_ Brakus asked smoothly, turning his gaze back to the blonde human woman who stood before him.

_"I sent them away. I knew once you grew tired of chasing Sparda around you'd come looking for us."_ Vergil's mother lied without even batting an eyelash.

_"Yes, your husband lead us on a merry chase. Pity my brother didn't put up a better fight. And now it seems I even miss out on the chance to see my nephews."_

Vergil's sharp hearing caught Dante's muffled gasp, wanting to do much the same, though at the tiny noise he held his breath waiting for something to discover them. But his uncle continued talking unperturbed. _"Pity, I hear they are quite the sight."_

_"You'll never see them! I'll never even let you touch a single strand of their hair!" _Eva snarled, holding out her sword in emphasis.

Brakus shook his huge horned head and sighed. _"Brave words, Eva. Too bad you can't back them up. When we are through with your corpse, Master Mundus has ordered me to hunt down and kill your sons. You should be happy in the knowledge that they will rejoin you in death soon enough. All one big happy family again."_

_"Over my dead body!"_ Eva spat and with a slight backward slash of her sword, she back flipped over the demon behind her and ran toward the living room.

Chuckling, Brakus followed slowly. _"That is the point."_

Vergil waited for what felt like an eternity, until he was sure no more demons were in the kitchen and that the way outside was clear, before he removed his hand from Dante's mouth and carefully crept from the pantry.

Hearing a crash from the living room and his mother's cry of pain, Vergil paused in the middle of the kitchen, torn between doing what he had been told and looking after his brother, or defying his mother and going back to help her.

The moment of hesitation was costly though, as Dante shrieked in pain and Vergil was unexpectedly flung backwards into the kitchen counters. Pain lanced through Vergil's head as he unsuccessfully tried to brace himself before slamming into the edge of the countertops.

Sliding down to the ground, Vergil wiped the blood that was oozing from his forehead away from his eyes and looked toward his little brother who was now held in the grasp of a hideous creature. Fury and fear raced through Vergil's young mind at the sight of the creature's long claws puncturing deeply into Dante's shoulder, striving for dominance.

The creature garbled out a string of unintelligible hisses and growls; it was the first time Vergil heard the language of the demons and certainly not the last.

The reaction was instant as Vergil heard the deep voice of Brakus,_ "Well, Eva, it is not nice to lie you know? Especially to your family."_

_"NO!"_ his mother screamed out and Vergil began moving his fury winning over his fear, while Dante screamed and fought back against the creature holding him with a strength born of fear and pain.

Vergil stood unsteadily as his vision swam, and then wasting no more time, hoisted himself up onto the counter behind him and retrieved one of the two swords his mother had hidden away from her often slightly destructive children.

Grasping the long hilt of his inheritance from his father, Vergil pulled Yamato from its hiding spot on top of the cupboards. Jumping gracefully down from his perch, Vergil wasted no more time as he unsheathed the long katana and raced toward the demon holding his brother, with a cry of outrage. _"Let my brother go!"_

It took only one desperate slice for the creature to release Dante, effectively severing the creature's limb.

The demon snarled at him viciously, and Vergil backed off slightly unsure now of what to do, the tip of the long sword touching the ground with its weight. The demon suddenly lunged at him, and with a move that came only from pure instinct, Vergil dodged the attack, swinging the katana up as he did and with a final resounding shriek the demon burst into dust as Yamato passed through its torso.

Surprised at the strength and speed at which he had moved, Vergil could only look dumbly down at the sword in his hands. His mother's voice spurned him back to reality and set him moving again. _"Vergil RUN!"_

Dropping the sword, knowing that he would never be able to help Dante and outrun the demons converging on him with it's added weight, Vergil ran to Dante and grabbing his little brother off the floor where he had fallen when the demon holding him had suddenly been forced to let go, he ran toward the door.

_"VERGIL! DON'T STOP! DANTE! DON'T LOOK BACK! RUN!"_ Eva screamed at them, the claws of demons ripping into her body and pinning her to the ground.

Emerging out into the cool night air, tears running unchecked down his pale cheeks, Vergil ran as fast as his legs could carry him, Dante's hand gripped tightly in his and his mother's screams of pain echoing in his ears.

_-----------------_

The blonde woman moved quickly to him, and Vergil pulled back in horror. "No! You're dead, this is only a dream!"

"Vergil. Vergil its alright." The ghost of his mother tried to soothe, and then screamed, "DANTE!"

There was a clatter of booted footsteps that Vergil paid little heed to as he stared in horror at the vision of his mother.

"Vergil, I'm Trish. Remember? You met me as Nelo Angelo." The form of his mother continued talking to him in soothing tones, reaching out to him.

"What?" Dante's figure suddenly burst into the room and without hesitance moved toward Vergil wrapping his arms protectively around him once more. "Its alright Verge. That's not mom. Mom died. This is Trish. Mundus' bad idea of trying to lure me into a trap."

Vergil felt himself hyperventilating as he tried to comprehend his brother's words.

"Why? Why couldn't you have just let me die?" Vergil pleaded as he lowered his head into his hands. His mind felt torn and so confused, with no comprehension of what was real and what was illusion.

"Cause, I'm a selfish bastard, and I wanted my brother back." Dante responded and then waved to Trish. "How 'bout you let me and Bobby take care of this?"

Trish nodded in understanding, and swept out of the room without any further words.

Vergil's mind reeled and he closed his eyes trying desperately to gain some semblance of order out of it.

"Alright Verge. Dr. Bobby and I are going to get those stitches out of you now, so…" Dante spoke calmly as if he was talking to a child and Vergil hated him for it, through the single emotion settled his chaotic thoughts.

Lifting his head out of his hands he looked to his brother, finally accepting the reality of his situation. "Kill me. Kill me and be done with it." He said evenly.

"Now Vergil, I'm not going to do that after we worked so hard to save your hide." Dante's eyes narrowed sternly and something within Vergil rose to the challenge.

"For what? After all I've done, for what, Dante? You are nothing more than a fool for trying." He responded bitterly.

Dante's arms moved away from around him, and oddly Vergil instantly missed their comforting embrace.

Dante's blue eyes narrowed further, sparking dangerously with his anger. "Sometimes." He shook his head. "Sometimes, you really know how to be an ungrateful ass. Now, whether you like it or not, we are going to take those stitches out and you're going to stop the whole self pity thing, or so help me, I'm going to knock you right back out!"

Vergil narrowed his eyes, watching his brother quietly, gauging the seriousness of that threat. He found that Dante was very much serious, and looking to the doctor standing quietly just to the side, Vergil sighed. "Do what you will."

"Ow!" A smack upside Vergil's head had him grimacing in pain.

"I told you to check that pity crap!" Dante's voice said sternly, braking through the ringing in his ears.

"What do you want from me?" Vergil nearly shouted at his twin. Why? Why would Dante just not leave him in peace?

"I want you to remember that you are not just one of Mundus' puppets. To remember that you are one of Sparda's sons!" A red amulet ringed in gold appeared in Dante's hand, and Vergil stared at it in remembrance. "And most importantly I want you to remember who you are!"

Hesitantly, Vergil reached out with a trembling hand to touch the amulet in Dante's hand.

"You remember what you told me?"

Vergil nodded, truly remembering those last words that he had spoken to Dante before plunging over the cliff into the heart of hell.

Dante continued, his voice growing calmer once more, but remained filled with deep emotion. "Good. Then take it, and start acting like you deserve it!"

Vergil closed his eyes once more and forced his hand to stop shaking and closed his fist over the amulet. With the cool metal biting into his skin, Vergil opened his eyes once more and regarded his brother with a new and profound sense of respect. Dante had been right, he had changed.

"Thank you." Vergil whispered, looking down at the amulet in his hand.

"No prob! I was getting tired of hanging on to it for you anyway." The familiar cocky tone returned to Dante's voice and Vergil couldn't help but smile softly.

"Well, if you are both ready now then?" Bobby asked, reminding both brothers that he was still in the room.

Vergil slipped the amulet over his head, and nodded to the doctor, ready now to allow their help.

Reviewer Thanks:

Lady Luce: I think this chapter more than made up for the last one as far as length goes. Originally it was supposed to be less but my beta suggested I put in a flashback or dream. I settled for the flashback, but it took a little longer to write, though I am pleased with the outcome, because I've never had a set idea on how their mother died, besides death by demons thing.

Yeah, I've got a lot of cats too. Currently over 20! It's not always easy keeping track of that many, especially when the majority of them are black. My parents can never figure out how I manage to tell any of them apart.

The Lex and Terry Listener: Hmm… no extra comments this time. Ah well, maybe next time. As always though thanks for the review and so happy that you are still enjoying it!

SoDesuKa: My notebook only has a few pages left… crap! I need to get a new one! Good to hear that you're still surviving. Hey, and keep up with the comments from the peanut gallery… namely the boys… they always make me laugh.

ShyAnon: Yeah, the girls are all busy having their coffee and beer in Lady's case and the boys are having their one on one, till they both end up snoring again. See Vergil even ended up snoring for a whole extra day! And waking them up is just dangerous, same as not giving them what they want!

I always feel guilty too about not updating, but unfortunately life calls and we must go. So I don't feel guilty for too long.

Yeah, Dante has his own way of being evil, which in the end really isn't that evil at all. (Note nasty prank on Leo and Lady.) But I've really been trying to find more out about DMC4 over the last couple of days and one friend who has high speed (I've got shity dial-up and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon.) who told me he watched one trailer where Dante was telling them that all they had to do was "Give it back and I'll spare you." Makes you wonder what the Order of the Sword took that pissed him off so much. He is also going to be a playable character in the game and not only will we be able to equip multiple weapons like in DMC3 but we'll also be able to use multiple styles! Sweet! That was the one thing I wished for (besides killing Jester) in 3!

Anyway, I'm not sure how far I'm willing to go just yet with Vergil and Lady. I'm looking at winding this fic up and I'm thinking that when and if I do a sequel then T would really get in to it with Vergil and Lady. But we'll see, like you I probably shouldn't promise anything.

Yodel: Yeah, I really wanted a chapter with just the girls in it, and Lady's reaction is exactly the same way I would react. Plausible deniability. Though Trish and Lucia seem more like best friends to me. Anyway, Lady is going to be just a bit grumpy after the next chapter, so she probably won't be doing anything mushy with Vergil for a while.

destructo888: You know I've never actually read any fics with Dante and Trish pairings in it. I tend to be more partial to Vergil and Lady. I think they were absolutely made for each other.

BlackEyeCandy11412: Thanks much for the review. And I'm very glad that you are enjoying it thus far!

ebil-kitty: Wow, thanks for the elaborate review! Though I feel kinda bad that it's taking you away from your work. And the thing about the Devil May Cry series is that while they are fun to watch, you really have to play it to really appreciate it. DMC3 being my absolutely favourite game of all time. If I've had a bad day at work, there is nothing like coming home and slashing up some demons or blowing them away or any other multiple sadistic moves I can think up. And I feel the same way about keeping everyone in character. I hate it when people screw that up! Though I think I made Vergil just a little too wussy this time around. You'll have to let me know.

Dela (): I've never actually seen the anime. I've got a shity dial-up connection, so it doesn't look good for me to ever actually get to see it. But I guess something is better than nothing.

Satanic Park Of Madness: I have trouble with Trish, cause for the most part of DMC 1, you don't deal with her (at least not like Lady) and I never got a good read on her personality. Pretty much the same goes for Lucia, except that you can actually play as her. Something I never did, because the game was too easy with Dante in charge. I was too disappointed to play through it again as Lucia. And what secret appearance of Trish? I missed that one!

Alexis4: If you are reading this, I have to appologize. I couldn't keep Vergil in character as much as I had hoped. You are intitled to give me crap for it if you so feel inclined to do so.


	13. Laughter Heals All Wounds

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to Devil May Cry. Check chapter 2 for more information!

Chapter 13: Laughter Heals All Wounds

A week later, Dante was all too happy to see his prank put into action.

The week had been particularly frustrating and highly annoying on more than one front. For starters, his case had nearly driven him mad as more and more corpses pilled up without him even getting a glimpse of the thing behind it. Then he had gotten a lucky break, catching the creature as it hunted down another human. After a nasty underwater battle with the squid like creature that left him completely drenched and full of stuff he didn't even want to think about – the Hudson not being a very clean river to begin with – he had happily closed the case last night.

Then Leo had made a nuisance of himself for the better part of the week, asking about and fine-tuning his, or rather Dante's plan, to woo Lady. Dante was beginning to wonder if all of the bother Leo was putting him through would be worth the final result.

And then lastly but certainly not least, Vergil was a problem. It wasn't that he was causing havoc or bent on destroying the neighbourhood, no, in fact it was the exact opposite. Since waking up, he had barely said a word, doing little more than eating and sleeping. He also hadn't styled his hair, demanded the return of Yamato or even asked for new clothes, apparently content to wander around in a pair of Dante's old jeans and a Metallica t-shirt, which worn by Vergil just seemed wrong. The only thing Vergil seemed to genuinely respond to was the old Starscream toy that Dante had managed to find. Each morning Dante would find the toy on Vergil's nightstand in a different form. Beyond that though, Dante just found the whole situation was… well… frustrating. Thankfully though, Dante wasn't the only one upset by Vergil's lack of personality. Lady, whom had spent the better part of the week in the shop working on Yamato, was extremely on edge. Even Dante had to admit she had done one heck of a job with the sword. Not only was it completely devoid of blood now, but also it was as sharp and bright as the day it had been forged. She had also gone to the trouble of removing the blood soaked leather bindings and tassel around the hilt of the katana, and then rebound the hilt in night blue leather, found a tassel that was an exact match to the old one, and even found an old sheath at an antique store, all in preparation for when Yamato's master reclaimed it. But with Vergil not even acknowledging the loss of the sword, it only made Lady's work seem unappreciated which in turn only served to put her in a foul mood.

Dante sighed, pulling a hand through his mop of platinum hair, he hoped to God that not only would he survive through the prank, but that it would pull Vergil out of his slump. First things first though, he would have to get rid of Lucia and Trish. Otherwise they would make sure that he received his own special type of torture.

Heading into the kitchen where both women sat drinking their morning coffee, Dante was careful to keep both his face and voice in normal and slightly tired tones. Sometimes, though certainly not as often as Lady, Trish or Lucia would be able to pick up on his dishonesty. Though he decided that this morning it wouldn't be too hard to do since he was actually truly exhausted.

"Good morning ladies." Dante greeted pleasantly.

"Good morning!" Both women returned.

"There is coffee in the pot if you want some." Lucia spoke, not pausing in reading her morning paper.

"So you finally killed that thing, hmm?" Trish asked, sipping from her cup.

"Yeah. New York will be a bit safer tonight." Dante replied, retrieving a cup of coffee for himself. He rarely drank the bitter drink, but after the long night, he needed a little extra caffeine.

"At least till the next one pops up." Trish said.

"It never ends, does it?" Lucia asked mournfully, pausing to look up from her morning paper.

"Nope." Dante replied, sitting down between the two women.

A comfortable silence reigned then for many long minutes, as Trish and Dante drank their coffee and Lucia finished reading her paper.

Finally, finished with his coffee, Dante broke the silence. "Hey Trish could you do me a big favour?"

She nodded, finishing off the rest of her cup.

"I need to pick up some things I ordered for Vergil. Do you think you could pick them up for me instead?" He yawned suggestively and Trish jumped to his bait.

"Of course! You've had a long week. Lucia and I need to pick up some other things as well, so we can run your errands." Trish smiled, getting up and removing both hers and his coffee mugs from the table. "Where did you order from?"

"I got a couple clothes from Tony's for him, and Celes ordered me in a coat, vest, boots and pair of leather pants." Dante supplied helpfully. Then getting up he stretched languidly, and moving to Trish, kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Thanks, babe. You're a saint."

"Ah, get out of here." Trish batted at him playfully, and Dante satisfied with his ruse started to head out of the kitchen.

He was stopped in his tracks by Lucia's voice. "Perhaps we should ask Lady to come with us. She is nearly climbing the walls in boredom now that she is finished with the sword." she suggested, neatly folding her newspaper up.

"Good idea." Trish said from her position by the sink where she was rinsing out the coffee mugs.

Seeing his plan go swirling down the drain, Dante thought quickly. "Ah… no. I promised her we'd work on the vehicles." He told them, hoping it was a believable excuse.

Apparently it was since both Trish and Lucia nodded in understanding. "Well, at least you're making her still feel needed." Trish said. "You know how she gets when she's injured and we don't let her hunt."

"Yeah." Dante nodded in assent. If Lady had a hot temper on a normal basis, her temper was practically as easy to ignite as a tinder dry forest when she was on the injured list.

"Well, come on now. We'll do your errands. Go get some sleep, you big pain in the ass!" Trish shooed cheerfully.

Dante grinned and chuckling replied. "Oh, so you do like my ass!" He quickly vacated the kitchen before Trish could get after him.

Laughing as he walked through his office he debated on taking an hour nap before the big show, then decided against it. He'd probably end up sleeping too long and ruin the whole event.

Reaching his room, he noticed the pile of damp clothes on his floor, and with a venomous swear he quickly found a bag, shoved the offending clothes and coat into the bag and then raced back downstairs in time to find Trish retrieving her wallet from his desk.

"I thought you'd be asleep already?" Trish asked, looking at him in slight amusement.

"Jeez, you sound as bad as my mother used to!" Dante mockingly taunted her with a grin and then quickly continued before she could say anything in her defence. "Could you drop these off at the dry cleaners?"

Trish frowned, taking the bag from him. "I don't even want to know what you did to them this time." She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she peered into the bag.

"Well…"

"I don't want to know!" Trish cut him off before he could say anything more. "Now go and get to bed will ya!" She snapped humorously and then headed back out through the kitchen.

Shaking his head Dante returned to his trek upstairs, but was stopped when his foot nearly made contact with the top stair by the ringing of the phone.

Sighing in exasperation, he headed back down and picked it up. "Devil May Cry, Dante…"

"Dante!" Leo's voice came over the receiver. "Man, I've been trying to call you all morning!"

"Sorry. My cell phone's drying out." Dante ran a hand through his hair, looking at the small damp phone resting on his desk. Good thing he had Lucia make a copy of that picture of Vergil and Lady, cause after the soaking his phone got who knew if it would ever work again.

"Oh." There was a slight pause and then as if Leo figured it out he asked, "So there won't be any new bodies in need of fishing out?"

"Nope." Dante yawned. "Least nothing more than out of the ordinary."

"Great. So anyway, is everything ready?"

"Yeah, mostly. Just need to get Lady in position." He murmured into the phone, sleep depravation finally catching up with him.

"OK!" There was a click on the other end, Leo obviously being to excited to notice the sleepy tone of Dante's voice.

Scratching his head, Dante thought about the event and then deciding that he would need some insurance to keep Lady from killing him, along with an escape plan; headed back into the kitchen and following the hallway out from it turned into a room that doubled as their research area and library. Bending over the laptop situated on the lone table in the room, he pulled up the image of Vergil and Lady and then quickly saved it to a memory stick and placed the memory stick in his jean pocket, his trump card now safely on his person.

Pausing only to retrieve his spare boots and shop key from the back door, he once again passed through the building and headed back upstairs, hoping not for the last time that this entire headache would be worth it. Though the last question now remained on how to get both Vergil and Lady downstairs without blowing the whole thing.

Deciding that it would probably be harder to get his twin moving, Dante stopped by his brother's door. Knocking on it, he slowly opened the door to find Vergil sitting on his bed reading one of the many newspapers that Lucia had borrowed from the library so that he could catch up on his current events. Looking around at the piles of magazines and newspapers cluttering the floor, Dante could only imagine the stockpile the library must have.

Dressed in a clean Black Sabbath hoodie and a pair of blue jeans with his hair all askew from sleep, Vergil looked positively just like any other university student.

"Morning." Dante greeted, noticing at the same time, the little toy transformer sitting on Vergil's pillow now in its jet mode. He couldn't help but grin; man, they really needed to go see that movie.

Vergil lifted his eyes from the paper and simply looked at Dante. There was no nasty retort, no sneer, nothing, just a quick look that only seemed to say 'yes.' Though looking on the brighter side, Dante was happy to note that bits of blue were peeping through the grey clouds of his twin's eyes.

"Keeping busy?" Dante asked, trying to make some sort of conversation with his brother, while he still tried to think over how to get him downstairs.

"Yes. I…" Vergil paused, looking away almost guiltily. "I have missed much."

Dante sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in frustration. "I thought I told you to quit with that crap?"

Vergil did not meet Dante's gaze instead he spoke softly. "It seems it may be easy for you to forgive me, but it is not so easy to forgive myself."

Dante sighed again. Trish had said that this was only normal behaviour for torture victims, having talked to a psychiatrist about it. But Dante knew his brother and this was not normal behaviour.

Picking up Starscream off the pillow, he carefully manipulated the toy back into its robot mode. "You know I always thought the two of you were really alike." Dante mused softly.

Vergil looked back toward his brother, confusion showing in a narrowing of his eyes.

"Starscream." Dante held up the toy in emphasis. "But now I'm not so sure. Cause no matter how much crap he took from Megatron, he never stopped trying to come out on top."

Vergil frowned, but looked thoughtful and when Dante had Starscream fully reformed into his robot mode, carefully took the old toy back and contemplated it silently. After a few minutes a small smile lit Vergil's features and he looked back up at Dante. "We both are fast." Then the smile disappeared and Vergil's tone became slightly colder, more like his old self. "Was there something you wanted?"

Dante smirked noticing the deliberate change in topic. "Yeah. I've got a surprise. Meet me down in the office in five."

Vergil lifted a white eyebrow. "I'm hardly in the mood for surprises." Even so, his eyes twinkled slightly and the clouds dissipated just a little bit more from his eyes.

"You'll like this one." Dante's smirk turned into an all out grin as he headed toward the door.

"I doubt it. But perhaps I'll humour you." Vergil replied.

"That's all I ask." With that Dante left the room and headed down the hallway to Lady's room. That had gone better than he had anticipated, now just to get Lady going. Not that that would be hard, he had told her they would do some oil changes on the vehicles, he just hadn't said when.

Stopping by her open door at the end of the hallway, he admired the interior of her room. Unlike everyone else, Lady held a slightly gothic theme to her room. The ceiling was painted to resemble to a fine detail, the night sky. Her dressers and shelves were littered by not only the more normal pictures of her childhood – minus her father of course – and of her life at Devil May Cry, but also by figurines both big and small of fantastic and mythical creatures. The walls also contained posters of the same creatures, along with a cradle for an antique Winchester rifle. But what drew the attention of anyone that entered her room was the large painting above her bed. The painting was an exquisite representation of the Grim Reaper holding a young woman protectively. Though unlike most images of the Grim Reaper this one did not depict him as a black robed skeleton, instead the reaper, although still cloaked in black, was represented by a handsome young man with long dark hair that peeked out from beneath his hood. The strong handsome face and glittering dark eyes, if anything gave the onlooker a greater sense of dread. One skeletal hand gently gripped the beautiful brunette woman to his chest, the other hand held a deadly scythe that was protectively situated behind the woman's back, keeping at bay numerous demons and dark creatures that stared out of the darkness around the couple. Strangest still was the serene look on the woman's face as she laid it on the strong, black-cloaked chest of the Reaper.

All in all, the painting was a work of art that creeped out most anyone that looked upon it. Lady though had immediately taken to it when she had spotted it during a gig at an art gallery. After they had discovered that it was in fact that particular painting causing all the trouble, the caretakers of the gallery were all too happy to part with it, never much liking it to begin with. Normally Dante would have simply burnt the damn thing instead of dealing with the inlaid curse, but Lady had insisted and after a few months Lucia had finally managed to nullify the curse so that Lady could hang the painting in her room without causing any of the damage that it had at the art gallery.

Now as Dante considered the painting he found that the painting was like a representation of Lady's life, for how else would she be able to consistently cheat death if she didn't already have the Grim Reaper, the Angel of Death, on her side.

Entering the room, Dante found Lady sitting in an overstuffed chair, the antique Winchester held in her tender arms as she lovingly cleaned the old weapon.

"Morning." Dante said, moving into the room and sitting across from her on her bed.

"Hey." Lady replied softly, her hands continuously moving along the gun bringing both the wooden and metal parts to a shine. "I'll take it by that earlier stench and subsequent shower, that you finally found your demon."

"Found and bagged." Dante replied proudly.

Lady cocked the rifle, examining its firing mechanisms with a critical eye. "Well, get on with it!"

Dante could only smile and shake his head. It was an unwritten rule that if Lady was supposed to follow the no hunting while injured rule, then her companions were at least going to amuse her with detailed accounts of their own hunts.

Dante recounted his tale with what Vergil would have called unnecessary flourish, but it held Lady's attention as raptly as a small child.

When he finished his account of the battle with the brain-eating squid, Lady smiled and leaned back in her chair, idly caressing the Winchester as if it were a pet. "So why aren't you in bed yet?"

Shrugging, Dante leaned back onto her comfortable bed. "You know me! Besides I was wondering if you were game to go and do some oil changes?"

Narrowing her eye suspiciously, Lady replied, "Sure, but you've been getting limited sleep and I sure as heck don't want to have to drag your ass back in here cause you went and passed out on me."

Dante held his hands up in defence. "Hey, I wouldn't do something like that to you!" he grinned charmingly. Oh no, he wouldn't make her drag him anywhere, but he sure as heck was going to piss her off. "Besides, I know you well enough to know you'd just leave me in the shop if I did that. Probably in a puddle of oil just for kicks!"

"Oh, yes that would do wonders for your hair!" Lady laughed and rose, stretching her lithe body languidly. "Alright. Just give me a minute to change." She was still dressed in loose fitting flannel pyjama bottoms and a plain t-shirt.

Dante nodded and stood, stretching himself.

"Unlike some people I don't enjoy remaining inside all day long." Lady continued bitterly, her gaze resting on something under her bed.

Stepping aside so that he could follow her gaze, Dante caught sight of a narrow, long weapons case hiding under her bed. Pursing his lips in an odd moment of seriousness, Dante said, "Don't worry, I've got an idea of how to get him out of his slump."

"Oh? And how are you going to accomplish that with him sleeping his second lease on life away?" she returned scornfully, and now Dante could see why Trish and Lucia had come to the conclusion that they had over the reason for Lady's currently short fused temper. That conclusion still seemed rather odd to Dante, for how could anyone in their right mind have fallen for his stoic, stuck up and icy cold twin? Unfortunately it explained a lot.

"You know, he is actually awake." Dante told her softly.

Her eyes went wide and she glanced toward the digital clock sitting on her nightstand. "Wow! He must be starting to feel better is he's up before eleven!" The time being only just after nine.

Dante grinned, feeling a little less guilty about his prank. Once she figured out why it was that he had done what he was about to do, maybe she wouldn't be so ready to kill him. Yeah, right!

"Or was he always like this before?" Lady asked contemplatively, replacing the Winchester in its wall cradle and then began digging through a drawer for clean clothes, which she then tossed onto her bed.

"Naw, Verge was a night owl and an early bird. He pretty much figured that sleep was the enemy. Never could understand it." Dante shrugged, heading toward the door. "There were a lot of things I sometimes didn't get." He mused, keeping his back politely turned while Lady changed. "Like the way he was with his girlfriends. Most of the fun is what they can do to you! Verge never saw it that way."

"How so?"

"Ah. Verge was a control freak and was totally hands off. Weirdest thing was, once the poor girl had given in to him completely… he dumped them." Dante ran a hand through his hair, sadly remembering how many girls he had had to comfort after his brother had mercilessly ended their relationship. "Guess at heart, he really wanted someone stronger that wouldn't be so ready to give in." He glanced over his shoulder at Lady to see her finish pulling a red tank top on.

"Well, it's their own fault." Lady grumbled, ever the feminist. "Let a man rule your life, and you deserve the inevitable hard drop."

Dante chuckled and turned back toward her. "You're never going to get a boyfriend with that attitude!"

"Who says I want one?" Lady retorted and then quickly changed the subject. "Are you ready?" she asked, placing a hand on her jean-clad hip.

"Yeah," Dante grinned and then with a wave lead the way out of the room, eager to get his joke over with.

Moving quickly, he glanced into Vergil's room and found his twin still sitting on his bed carefully folding the newspaper he had been reading. Their eyes met for a brief minute, and in a rare moment of understanding that required no verbal communication of any sort, Vergil stood and followed slowly after.

Dante had just reached his desk with Lady right behind and Vergil still descending the stairs, when there was a knock on the front door.

Lady sighed and turning quickly on heel, muttered a "I'll get it."

Dante turned and waited in anticipation for Lady to open the door to Leo. He was caught completely off guard when Lady opened the door to a small Latino kid that couldn't have been more than eight years old.

The little boy grabbed a hold of Lady's hand and tugged insistently. "Please miss! I need you to come with me!"

"Alright!" Lady agreed, practically being pulled out of the building by the child.

Perturbed, Dante grabbed Ebony and Ivory off of his desk where he had left them next to his sodden cell phone. This certainly hadn't been in the plan, and Dante was quick to follow Lady and the boy, worried that something else had happened.

Reaching the door, Dante met Vergil's gaze for a second time that day and together they sped out of Devil May Cry, and raced down the street after Lady. Regardless of how cold and heartless Vergil had been in the past, he and his twin had always agreed on one thing… children were not to be harmed! And whether it was human or demon doing the hunting, they all met an unfortunate end beneath the wrath of the twins.

Turning the corner at the end of the street, the brothers came to a direct halt just a few feet behind Lady. Before them stood, in a half moon circle, a crowd of people that filled the street from one side to the next. Police cars had blocked both sides of the street, preventing any traffic from traveling down it, and as a result the crowd was steadily growing.

A couple of feet in front of Lady stood Leo, decked full out in an Easter bunny costume. At his feet stood a box with three small rabbits hopping contentedly around its interior. A band stood a few feet back from him, waiting for their cue to start playing.

Lady stood completely still, her nerveless hand still being held by the small child and when he finally let go to join the crowd; it fell limply against her side.

Dante, with Vergil keeping in step, edged carefully around so as to get a good look of Lady's ashen face, Leo having apparently changed Dante's plans slightly.

Slowly she looked around the scene, her face growing paler by the second.

Leo dropped onto one knee, and cueing the band began singing. "Oh, Lady. My dear sweet Lady."

Dante couldn't help but snicker at the sound of Leo's off key voice.

Lady's face flushed in embarrassment, and unfortunately, as was the case with Lady, her embarrassment only served to fuel her anger, which in turn gave her the courage to move forward and confront her fears.

"Leo, what in God's name do you think you're doing?" Lady hissed, moving closer to Leo.

Thankfully, Dante had told Leo to disregard and ignore anything and everything Lady did or said. After some argument on that, Leo had finally agreed that Lady did have a tendency to vehemently deny she liked something – often resorting to harsh words to prove it – and so he had complied.

Leo's lack of reaction of course only frustrated Lady further and she moved closer, her fury building. "For God's sake get up!" she hissed again.

Having little success with Leo after a few more nasty words, Lady went off to try and first get the band to stop and then to disperse the crowd.

Hearing a soft chuckle at his side, Dante looked over at his brother and grinned. "Enjoying yourself?"

Vergil stifled his quiet laughter and without answering Dante's question, replied, "I suppose you had something to do with this?" He gestured toward Lady, who was now running back and forth amongst the crowd trying to get them to leave, whilst Leo and the band continued their song.

"Not bad, eh?" Dante rubbed his knuckles against his chest and then blew them off with undisguised pride.

"Hmm," Vergil stated in complete surprise. "I honestly didn't think you were capable…" He paused searching for the right word and then he snickered again, whilst Dante burst out laughing, as Lady ran back toward Leo and nearly tripped over the baby rabbits, causing her to fully back off, a look of extreme horror plastered all over her face. Dante honestly hoped that she didn't end up killing the poor long-eared animals.

"Cruelty." Vergil managed to get out in between fits of his almost silent laughter

"What…" Dante wiped tears from his eyes, and looked to his twin to find the grey clouds of depression lifting from his blue gaze. "You think you're the only one with an evil

side? We are twins you know!"

Vergil just shook his head, currently having more trouble than usual with holding his laughter in and not trusting himself to open his mouth long enough to reply.

Dante grinned and wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders, pulling him close, glad that his plan had worked so well. "Glad you like it, bro!"

"Ah, all this for me?" Vergil sniggered, "I'm touched."

Dante laughed at his twin's slightly sarcastic tone. "Call it your coming home gift."

Finally turning away from Leo, Lady's eyes narrowed dangerously as her eyes met Dante's. His inner demon which had been practically rolling around in fits of laughter, quickly vacated the foremost part of Dante's brain, and Dante was only left thinking, 'Shit!'

Apparently Vergil noticed Lady's look as well, for he sobered considerably. "Perhaps a quick exit is in order, brother?"

"Yeah, that's probably a really good idea." Dante replied, beginning to back away as Lady began moving toward them.

"DaNTE!!!" Lady's infuriated voice yelled over the noise of city and the band.

Without further persuasion, both twins took off at top speed back toward Devil May Cry with Lady in hot pursuit.

Reaching the office long before the raven-haired huntress, Dante threw open the door and Vergil slammed it shut, leaning against it to prevent further entrance.

"Well that was interesting." A slight grin tugged at the corner of Vergil's mouth and as Dante looked back into his twin's eyes, he could still see the good-natured humour within them.

Grinning himself, Dante replied, "Don't you know? Nothing is ever boring around here!" Then remembering that Lady would soon be beating down the door asked, "You think you can hold her off for a bit?"

Snorting, Vergil tipped his head cockily. "Now why would I do that?"

"Ah, man, come on? After all I did!" Dante pouted and kept backing up toward the rear of the office, his eyes not leaving his brother's.

"Perhaps it will be taken into consideration." Vergil chuckled again.

"Fine. I can take that." Dante said, and reaching the kitchen door pushed it open. "Just do me a favour, bro, and let the girls know I did this for the good of all."

That sent Vergil over the edge, as he finally lost his cool and burst into nearly hysterical laughter. Sagging against the door, he waved Dante away, as Lady started banging on the opposite side of the door.

"Vergil, get out of my way!" Lady screamed at the door.

Dante didn't wait any longer; he dashed into the kitchen and out the back door even as Vergil moved to have Lady come bolting in the door at top speed.

Author's Notes: Due to over whelming reviews in the last chapter (By the way THANK YOU SO MUCH!!) I'm going to discontinue putting my review replies at the end of the chapter. Look for your reply in your inbox from now on. Though if anyone wants me to continue putting them at the end of the chapter, let me know! If you don't leave an e-mail address, I'll assume you don't want me to get back to you. Oh, yes, and can anyone guess what Dante was looking for in the last chapter? Once again Thank you very much!


	14. Hell Hath No Fury

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to Devil May Cry. Check chapter 2 for more information!

Chapter 14: Hell Hath No Fury

Two days later, Dante sat on a bed in some no name motel, debating whether it was safe to at least attempt to go home.

A new cell phone lay beside him on the bed and he twirled the valuable memory stick around in his fingers.

Although his stay in the motel had been fun – the previous night having been particularly entertaining, first he had rescued a woman from a few demons, then the woman had thanked him with style – he was more than ready to go home now. Not only was he tired of wearing the same Ghost Rider t-shirt and jeans, but he felt, smelt and undoubtedly looked like he hadn't had a shower in days, which of course he hadn't since after one look at the motel's grime covered facilities there was no way he was going to get in there without a protective bio suit.

Pulling a hand through his greasy hair – funny how gross it could get in such a short amount of time – Dante abruptly grabbed the new cell phone off the bed and flipping it open, quickly punched in the number for his office.

The phone rang two times before it was picked up. "Hello, Devil May Cry! Lucia speaking."

"Hey, Lucy!" Dante greeted cheerfully, happy that it hadn't been Lady that picked up.

There were a few moments of silence before Lucia spoke again. "Dante! You have some nerve!" She said in a hissing whisper.

"Didn't Vergil give you guys my message?" Dante asked, feeling a little let down by his big brother.

"Oh, yes, he gave us the message. That doesn't mean that you don't still need a good boot up your ass for that stunt you pulled." Lucia hissed and then Dante could hear someone in the background and Lucia spoke louder. "No, Lady, its just Enzo."

"Well it worked didn't it?" Dante asked in an annoyed voice. No one was ever appreciative of the things he did.

"Was that before or after you had Leo try to propose to Lady?" Lucia asked softly, her voice feigning sweetness.

"WHAT?" Dante's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he immediately stood, pacing the tight confines of his motel room in agitation. "I never told him to do that!" Stupid, stupid kid!

"Well he figured it would be such a great idea, since you gave him the 'means' with which to have Lady falling madly in love with him. It's a just a good thing we got back when we did or she might have actually killed him!" Lucia snapped into the phone, still keeping her voice hushed.

"Well how was I supposed to know Leo would be 'that' stupid?" Dante shouted back into the phone, completely stressed out. God, he was never going to be allowed back into his home ever again! Suddenly he felt the urge to throttle his inner demon for making him come up with something so dumb.

"Hey! Don't yell at me!" Lucia responded and then abruptly changed the subject. "What were you calling about?"

Dante sighed and leaned against a wall, feeling instead like he should be bashing his head into it. "How's my brother?" he asked first, it having been the thing plaguing him the most; had this prank helped in bringing his twin out of his shell?

"Yeah," Lucia responded, slight surprise filling her voice. "He has been much better actually." She paused for a moment before continuing. "You did this all for him didn't you?"

"Yeah," Dante admitted softly.

"Well, then you would probably like to know that after we managed to pull Lady off of Leo, we found Vergil practically in tears he was laughing so hard. It took us a bit to figure out whether he was having a complete mental breakdown or not."

Dante smiled at that; it had never been an easy thing to get Vergil to laugh, but when it did happen it was like the first warm day of spring after a hard winter.

"Since then he has been up at the crack of dawn and finished reading all those newspapers and magazines I brought him. Then this morning when Trish and I got back from patrol, he actually had coffee already made for us!"

Shaking his head, Dante could very well guess that Vergil was doing his best to stay on the girls' good sides, least their wrath toward his twin turn against him. "So is it safe to come home?" Dante finally asked, though it came out as more of a desperate plea.

Lucia only laughed at that. "Yeah, if you want to be hung up and used for target practice!"

Dante groaned. "You wanna do me a favour then and pull up that pic I had you transfer from my cell phone?"

"I thought we were going to frame it and give it to them for Christmas?"

"Change of plans. I want to come home without ending up as a wall ornament." Dante stated and then added as an after thought, "But maybe we'll wait a Christmas and then do it anyway for the next one."

"Alright," Lucia sighed. "But you owe me big!"

"When don't I?" Dante replied with mock sadness. "Now would you mind handing the phone to Lady?"

"Sure." Lucia said, and then Dante could hear her shouting for the other woman.

The line went quiet for a few moments and then Dante was greeted by Lady's voice. "Yes?"

"Hey!" Dante returned the greeting merrily hoping that some how his good nature might tone down Lady's wrath. He was sorely mistaken on that point and was forced to pull his cell phone a good distance from his ear to prevent any hearing loss as Lady immediately began shouting into the receiver.

After nearly ten minutes of yelling, Dante slowly brought his phone back toward his ear. "Lady. Lady, calm down." He soothed, using the same tone of voice he had used to calm Vergil when he had first woken up.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?" Lady screeched and Dante was forced to pull his phone back away from his ear as another torrent of curses and foul language came over the receiver aimed at him.

Dante waited another few minutes before resuming his attempts at calming Lady enough to get a word in edgewise. Still more long minutes passed until Dante's ear was finally only subjected to the sound of Lady's furious breathing.

"What… do… you… want?" She snarled out with barely contained fury.

"Easy now." Dante soothed again and then continued. "For starters, I'd like to come home without ending up on the office wall next to one of my trophy heads."

"You've got another thing coming if you think you can just walk in here and…"

"Hang on, hang on!" Dante interrupted before Lady could start yelling at him again. "That's why I've got insurance."

"Insurance?" Lady asked venomously.

"Yup! You mind heading over to the library? Lucia is pulling up something on the laptop." Dante asked politely, pulling away from the wall and praying his gamble would pay off.

"And why should I?" Lady snarled again, being highly uncooperative.

Sighing in exasperation – man, the things it took to get a shower – Dante responded, "Just humour me!"

Lady grumbled incoherently for a few moments and then replied, "Fine! I'm getting the cordless from the kitchen!"

Dante waited many long minutes, wondering for the most part how long it took for her to go into the kitchen and retrieve the cordless phone off the wall when it was only a few feet away – maybe she had to make it first – then finally he heard a click on the other end as the second phone was turned on.

"Alright, what are the terms?" Lady's voice immediately asked in a much more passive tone.

"I'll take it that you're looking at the laptop?" Dante asked with a grin, his fingers moving the memory stick around in his hand again.

"Duh!" she answered snarkily. "What's to say your bad driving didn't just cause that?"

"Suurre," he drew the word out in disbelief. "That's why you look so peaceful and happy, right?" he teased, besides his driving wasn't 'that' bad.

Lady thankfully didn't argue the matter further. "Fine. So what're your terms?"

Dante's grin grew, already thinking about the clean clothes and shower waiting for him at home. "Well for starters you're going to be a good girl and let me back in my home without trying to Kill me!" he stressed the no killing part. "You're also not going to do anything nasty to me when I'm trying to catch some much needed 'z's. And lastly but certainly not least, I want to know that you've got my back the next time we get into a big fight with some demons, monsters or other unfriendly creatures. Kapish?"

Lady was silent as she considered her options.

Deciding to try and push his terms just a little further he continued. "Oh, yeah, and you'll do all my chores and any extras that Trish might bestow upon me."

"Don't push your luck!" Lady snapped instantly. "And what's to say I don't just go and delete this file right now?"

Dante shrugged, too bad she wouldn't go for the chores, but it had been a stretch when he'd thought of it and at least he could safely get back into his home now. At her last words though, he looked down to the small stick in his hand. "You think I would be that dumb as to not make a backup?"

Growling, Lady asked, "A back up that you just happen to have in your hand right now, right?"

"Wow! You know me so well." Dante teased and received another growl for it.

"So no one's seen it?" Lady pressed.

"Nope, just me, Lucia and Trish. And I have to tell you, we all agreed that you guys look sooo cute!" Dante laughed as he teased again.

"Shut up!" Lady snarled, her temper flaring up once more. "Vergil hasn't seen it though?"

The question had a slightly desperate ring to it and Dante's grin grew to devilish proportions. "Nope."

"Good! Then promise me he will 'never' see it!" she responded in relief and then continued with that same desperate plea.

"You've got my word. Scout's honour." Dante promised solemnly and pressed his hand to his heart, even though she couldn't see it. "I'll see you in a bit then." With that, Dante hung up and whistling happily, collected Ebony and Ivory, his keys and wallet and gladly checked out of the motel.

------------------------------

Whistling merrily as he walked in through the back door, Dante hung up his keys and strutted happily toward the kitchen. As he neared the kitchen, he saw Vergil sitting quietly at the table, his hands folded neatly on top. Although he hadn't styled his hair, Dante was happy to note that his brother was wearing the new clothes he had ordered for him.

Steadily moving closer toward the kitchen, Dante was next able to see Lady sitting beside Vergil, an absolutely sour look on her face. In fact if looks could kill, Dante was sure he would have melted into his boots as if some heavy-duty acid had hit him.

Lucia came into view next, sitting on the other side of Vergil, with a clam nearly emotionless look on her face as she once more drank a cup of coffee. Boy, that woman could drink coffee!

Waltzing into the kitchen, Dante was about to greet everyone – since they seemed to have lain out the coming home party for him – when a fist suddenly slammed into the side of his jaw.

"Ow!" Dante yelped in both surprise and pain, automatically ducking away from any subsequent punches. When none came, he straightened up and rubbed his chin ruefully. Looking to everyone, he found Vergil smirking, Lady grinning happily and Lucia watching detachedly. Finally peeking to the side where his attacker had been patiently waiting just out of sight around the corner where the hallway met the kitchen, he found Trish standing with her fists planted on her black leather clad hips.

"Ow," he repeated. "What the hell was that for?" he asked completely upset.

"THAT was for pulling that horrible prank on Lady!" Trish snapped, clearly pissed off.

Though he had to admit, she looked undeniably stunning when she was mad. "Well, I…"

Trish was a lot faster than Dante had ever given her credit for, because he didn't have any time to react before her fist made contact with his face once more. "OW!" he cried out, gaining snickers from Lady and Vergil.

"And That was for running off for two days without so much as even a note!"

Straightening yet again and once more rubbing his painful chin and cheek, Dante glared at Trish, piercing sky blue clashing with deep ocean blue.

When she swiftly moved toward him again, Dante pulled back, fearful that she might hit him again. This time though Trish lightly grabbed his face and pressed her lips hard against his, pushing him back until his back collided with the wall.

Utterly surprised and just a little confused by the abrupt change in the blonde's mood, Dante didn't even think to return her passionate kiss, instead he ended up just standing there and taking it. Only when Trish began to pull back did it register in Dante's momentarily stupefied brain just what it was that he should have been doing.

Trish stepped back, an odd look on her face that on any other woman Dante might have considered lusty. "And that was for getting Lady to stop whining about Leo."

"Hey!" Lady snarled indignantly.

Breaking out into a dumb lopsided grin, Dante glanced over to Lady to see that the nasty sour look had returned to her face and she had pulled her arms across her chest, further bespeaking of her displeasure. Looking back to Trish, he swaggered away from the wall. "Yup, it was…"

Trish's fist coiled again and Vergil spoke up. "Perhaps, brother, you should shut your mouth so long as you are still ahead." He remarked sagely.

Taking his brother's advice, Dante quickly clamped his mouth shut.

Relaxing, Trish waved her hand in front of her nose. "Now, go take a shower! You stink!"

"I'm so under appreciated." Dante grumbled and walked past the others. Pausing at the door, he turned once more toward Trish, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "So, later, you wanna keep going where we left off?" he asked teasingly.

Lifting a long delicate finger, Trish pointed to the door behind him. "Get!" she ordered without deeming to answer his question.

Dante shrugged and pushed open the door. "You don't know what you're missing babe." He threw back over his shoulder.

Leaving the kitchen and heading through the office, Dante heard the footsteps of his brother following him. It was hard to mistake the graceful, purposeful and almost predatory strides of his brother, particularly now that he was outfitted with new boots that hit the wooden floorboards with a soft ring.

"Nice to see you getting back to your normal self." Dante admitted sincerely, pausing at the bottom of the stairs with his hand on the metal rail.

Vergil shrugged indifferently and Dante started up the stairs.

"So," Dante started again trying to get some sort of a conversation out of his brother. "Those clothes all to your liking?"

"They are sufficient." Vergil answered coldly.

"Well, jeez! That's the last time I get something for you." Dante replied sarcastically.

"Would you rather me continue to wear your clothes?" Vergil asked with the same sarcastic tone as Dante had used.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Dante stopped and looked back down at his twin, who was only a few steps lower. "No." he answered after a moment of contemplation. "Guess the change of clothes helped remind the girls that you weren't in fact me, eh?"

Shrugging nonchalantly, Vergil answered with a slight hint of amusement, "Yes, they were a suitable reminder."

"Particularly that coat, eh?" Dante gestured toward the long blue leather trench coat Vergil was wearing over a black silk shirt and black suit pants, before continuing the journey to his room.

"Quite." Vergil answered stiffly. "Any divergence from you is a good thing."

"Yet, surprisingly you still haven't fixed your hair." Dante returned spitefully.

Vergil didn't answer, and reaching the closed door to his room, Dante stopped and looked back toward his brother to find his eyes narrowed into slits, a deep frown gracing his face.

Sighing, Dante examined his brother critically, and found that he was looking much more like the Vergil of memory again. He had packed some weight onto his lean frame – thanks mostly to Trish's cooking – helping him to lose the thin gauntness in his face, returning it to its sharp handsome features. Even his sky blue eyes were also slowly freezing into the great glaciers once more, although for now Dante was still able to see the uncertainty and pain deep within them. So changing the subject, Dante hoped to help his brother let go of those feelings. "So, you want to go see Transformers now?"

Lifting a slender white eyebrow, Vergil visibly debated the question before answering, "Why not. It will be interesting to see with my own eyes how far the technology in such things has come."

"Great!" Dante grinned, there was nothing better than a stroll down memory lane with a favourite childhood friend. "We'll go tomorrow maybe?"

Vergil nodded. "I'll check the theatre listings."

"Perfect!" Dante turned the handle on his door. "I'll convince Trish to give us the day off and you work on Lady and…" Dante immediately stopped speaking as he opened the door and got a good look at his room.

In the end he did the only thing someone in his situation would have done; he screamed. He screamed long and hard causing his twin to burst out laughing.

Dante gazed around his room in horror and revulsion. His posters of cars, women and rock bands had been taken down and replaced with pictures of laughing clowns. The walls behind the clown posters had been painted a horrid bright pink. Thankfully his carpet hadn't been ripped out and replaced, but his bed sheets, blankets and even lamp covers had been changed to complement the freshly painted walls. Cutesy stuffed clowns and bunnies completed the look, sitting on top of a light pink floral comforter.

Grasping the doorframe, Dante felt a sudden need to run to the bathroom and empty his stomach of the nacho and cheese chips he had had earlier in the morning.

The nausea passed and hearing Vergil nearly busting a rib in his laughter, Dante turned with a hurt look on his face, toward his twin.

"You scream like a girl!" Vergil chocked out between fits of laughter.

"It's not funny!" Dante whined childishly. "How could you let them do that?"

"Oh, come now Dante." Vergil whipped tears from his eyes and discontinued his laughter as he replied coldly. "You don't honestly think I would do anything other than stay out of their way?"

"But I'm your brother!" Dante continued to complain helplessly. "I saved your butt from Hell!"

"As I recall I never asked you to do that. Besides, I certainly wasn't going to give those women any reason to turn their wrath on my own personal being." Vergil stated, as if Dante had asked him one of the dumbest questions in the world. "Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn, remember brother?" he recited stiffly.

Ignoring the old saying and eyeing his brother suspiciously for a moment, Dante narrowed his eyes. "You helped them didn't you?" he accused.

Vergil shrugged his blue-coated shoulders. "Of course. I could hardly pass up the chance to aggravate you." A smirk pulled at the corner of Vergil's mouth and he added. "And I have to say the reaction was well worth the effort."

Dante glared pointedly at his brother, already having a good guess for what else he would find. "I better not find any of my clothes with pink paint stains on them."

Turning to go, Vergil looked back over his shoulder. "Well I could hardly use my own, seeing as I have so few." He replied innocently, and then headed back toward the stairs. "Nor is pink my colour."

"You're evil, you know that?" Dante returned grouchily.

Pausing again, Vergil looked back over his shoulder once more. "What ever gave you the idea that I wasn't?"

Glaring at his brother's back, Dante wondered for a moment why he had put the effort into rescuing his rather ungrateful twin. Life had been much easier and quieter without him around.

"Where are you going?" Dante growled unhappily, some body was definitely going to help him clean up that mess in his room and if he found his wardrobe replaced… so help him God, there was going to be hell to pay!

Sticking his white-topped head back through the door into the office that he had just passed through, Vergil stated in a matter of fact tone. "I'm going to check the theatre listings." If his brother weren't always so grammatically correct, Dante was sure there would have been a big "Duh!" at the end of that sentence.

Grinding his teeth, Dante watched his brother once again disappear through the door and swivelling back toward his own room, braved the interior to retrieve some clean clothes.

------------------------------

Trish sat with Lucia and Lady in the kitchen happily drinking her coffee. Unfortunately, Lady was still in a huff about her kiss with Dante, but even the raven-haired huntress smiled when they heard Dante's unmistakeable ear splitting scream.

"I think he likes it." Trish grinned around her coffee and all three women burst out laughing.

Author's Notes: I'm terribly sorry for not updating sooner, but winter's just around the corner and I'm no where near ready for it, so you'll just have to bear with me. Also for anybody that was interested… Dante was looking for Starscream in chapter 12! Anyway, hopefully the final two chapters will come out a bit sooner, since they are both written. But if anyone out there has listened to and possibly has the Jet-Set Satellite disk, Vegas. If you have or know the lyrics to the song 'Together' if you could give them to me it would be Highly appreciated! Thanks for all your reviews again and hope you enjoyed this chapter!

PS. Stupid didn't want to accept my usual chapter breaks '' so I'm using the '-' now.


	15. Transformers

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to Devil May Cry. Check chapter 2 for more information! Nor do I own any of the Transformers stuff!

Warning: If you haven't seen the Transformers movie yet… you may want to watch it before reading this chapter. There are a few spoilers in here!

Chapter 15: Transformers

A few days later, Lady walked out of the theatre beside Trish and Lucia with the twins walking a few feet ahead of them. Even without demonic enhanced hearing Lady could still hear Linkin Park's 'What I've done' blaring over the theatre's speakers from behind them. She watched Vergil's blue coated back as he discussed with his casually dressed brother his thoughts on the movie they had just seen.

Lady was loathe in admitting it, and would never openly allow Dante to know – for then he would never come down off his high horse – but he was amazingly successful in bringing his twin out of his state of depression. Though his tactics were underhanded and no professional psychiatrist in their right mind would approve of such things – Lady in fact hated him for some of them – but she decided that inwardly she could forgive Dante since everything he had done thus far had been to help his brother.

"That was quite a good movie." Lucia stated from beside Lady.

"Yeah, I'm glad Dante convinced us to come." Trish agreed, stuffing some more popcorn into her mouth from the only half eaten bag she was still carrying. "And did you see the ass on that Captain?"

Lucia nodded. "The captain was…"

Oh, no! Lady decided she was not dealing with 'that'!

Catching up quickly to Dante and Vergil, she hung back a moment listening in to their conversation, hoping that it would be decidably better than Lucia and Trish's.

"They should have left Bumblebee as a VW Beetle." Vergil stated argumentatively. "It does not keep with the series."

"Ah, come on! He is so much cooler as a Camaro!" Dante argued. "And they did have that old busted VW next to Bumblebee at the dealership." Dante further pointed out.

Vergil shook his head, his mop of platinum hair flying about his head. "So. The only reason it was done was to promote the GM manufacturer's new line of vehicles. Nothing more than an expensive advertisement with plenty of special effects."

"Ah, whatever!" Dante replied uncaringly with a wave of his hands.

Taking the brief pause, Lady moved up beside Vergil and interjected, "Well, faster is better. Wouldn't you agree Vergil?"

"See? At least someone agrees with me!" Dante announced triumphantly.

Ignoring Dante, Lady purposefully met Vergil's slightly surprised and highly irritated glare. She knew when she had said it that if Vergil was anything of his former self – having once prided himself on his speed – he would be forced to agree.

After a few moments of heated staring – till Lady began to wonder if Vergil was ever going to let up – he snorted in disdain and looked away.

A smirk lit Lady's face, as she knew that she had been grudgingly accepted into the conversation. Lady one, Vergil zero!

"Now what the hell did they do to Jazz?" Dante exclaimed, having completely missed the short battle of wills between his oldest friend and brother. "Some pansy ass Pontiac Solstice! Man, of all the cars to pick!"

"As I said…"

"Yeah, yeah. Dumb car commercial." Dante interrupted before Vergil could even get started. "Now they should have left him as the Porsche! Hey, and what happened to Prowl? What's up with that evil cop car, Barricade? I thought all the Decepticons were supposed to be fighter jets?"

"Yeah." Lady answered. "Except for Megatron, Soundwave and his cassettes, and until the Constructicons showed up, they were all jets."

"Do not forget the Insecticons." Vergil reminded.

Lady nodded in remembrance. "But all in all, it was a very good movie."

Vergil nodded as well. "Yes, I must say I am rather impressed."

Chuckling Dante pointed out, "Told you." Then grinning devilishly, he leaned around his brother to look at Lady. "And I think I heard him snickering a couple of times!"

Lady returned Dante's grin, remembering well the soft noises coming from Vergil – who just so happened to be sitting next to her – in the nearly empty, dark theatre during the movie. "Who can blame him, there were some hilarious parts in there."

Dante laughed outright, "Especially that part where Sam's mom was bugging him about his 'alone time'!" He waved two fingers in the air for emphasis.

Vergil snickered again, and Lady's grin grew. "No, no. The part where Optimus steps on the fountain and says "Oops, Sorry, my bad."

Vergil smirked evilly. "All quite good, but nothing topped Megatron flicking that human away." He flicked his fingers in the air dramatically.

Typical, Lady thought, but she didn't hesitate to follow up with Dante, as they both repeated Megatron's words "Disgusting!" and burst out laughing.

Simultaneously, Dante and Vergil opened the glass double doors leading outside with Lady following Vergil who graciously held it open for her.

"Hey do you guys remember the theme song?" Dante's grin was nearly ear to ear now, mischievousness shining in his warm blue eyes.

"Who could forget?" Lady easily remembered the song, Transformers being one of the few things she still enjoyed after her mother's death.

Dante didn't give his brother any time to answer as he placed his arms behind his back and started in a singsong voice, "Transformers!"

Lady's eyes shone with remembered joy and she followed up with the next verse. "More than meets the eye!"

"Transformers!" Dante sang again, and this time they waited for Vergil to follow.

Of course, he only frowned pointedly at the both of them and then after a nudge from Dante, sighed and rolled his eyes. Clearing his throat, Vergil finally finished up the chorus with a very authentic and robotic sounding, "Robots in disguise."

"Nice." Lady's smile softened, highly impressed by Vergil's significantly better singing voice.

His icy eyes drifted down to meet hers briefly, just as Dante started on the next part of the song. A frown of irritation quickly graced Vergil's cold features, and he rolled his eyes with a sigh of annoyance.

Lady smirked and leaning in closer to Vergil, stated softly, "He's your brother."

Rubbing the bridge of his noise, Vergil answered coolly, "You needn't remind me."

Chuckling, Lady headed toward Trish's car; who knew that a really good movie and some fond old memories could make even Vergil happy.

Passing by three jocks conversing next to a black Camaro, Lady decided that she could ignore the whistle that suddenly emitted from their vicinity, preferring to remain in Vergil and Dante's company. Though at the moment as Dante continued to sing off key, remaining in his company was debatable. Unfortunately the next words that reached her ears from the young men would require her attention.

"Hey you sweet thing! Why don't you leave those freaks alone there, and come and see how some real men can treat you?"

Glancing up at Vergil, Lady found him coolly watching her with a curious look on his face. Then she balled her fists and spun on her heel, marching back toward the cretins.

"Freaks?" Dante came out of his own little world as he realised someone was insulting him. "Who's calling me a freak?" he growled out and spun around to follow Lady, intent on teaching the silly college jocks some manners.

Meeting Lucia and Trish halfway to her destination, Lucia stopped Lady with a confused look on her face. "What is wrong?"

Lady didn't have to answer as the apparent leader of the three jocks spoke up again. "Hey, you can bring your hot friends with you, babe. All six of us could have a real wild time! Hot girls like you must really know how to go the whole way! And I promise I'll even let you spank us!" The jock chuckled with a stupid grin on his face, smacking his blue jean covered ass in emphasis.

Lucia and Trish's heads snapped in the direction of the three young men, their eyes narrowing dangerously.

Trish held her hand out as Dante reached them, placing it firmly on his chest, and passed him her bag of popcorn. "We'll take care of this Dante." She stated absently, her eyes still focused on the three men, laughing and ogling them.

"What? Come on Trish! I'm not going to let them get away with calling me a freak!" Dante growled angrily. No way, he was going to let a bunch of punks talk about him and his brother like that.

"We'll handle it!" Trish growled, and already started heading off with Lucia and Lady, determined to teach those boys some manners. "And don't eat my popcorn!"

Knowing the girls for long enough now, Dante knew when to back off and let them have their space. Growling unhappily, he stuffed some popcorn in his mouth and shouted after Trish. "Give them one for me, will ya!"

She waved her hand back in acknowledgement and Dante turned to rejoin Vergil who was still standing near the back of Trish's car, watching with interest as the three women converged on the jocks.

He lifted an eyebrow at Dante's approach. "Since when do you back down from a fight?"

"Since I've been living with a bunch of headstrong women that take offence to having some one else defend their dignity." Dante replied, stuffing yet another handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"And yours?" Vergil asked, a slightly amused, slightly surprised look on his face.

"Unfortunately, if I don't want them to kick my ass after everything is said and done for helping out… their pride trumps mine." Dante answered sadly, moving to the driver side door and opening it.

"Hmm." Vergil responded, moving to the passenger side door.

Dante watched his brother critically for a few moments as Vergil's eyes turned back to the three women taking their vengeance. Following his gaze, Dante noticed with a slight smirk that Vergil was exclusively watching Lady as she slammed her fist into the gut of the lead punk.

"Ouh," They both grimaced in sympathy as Lady followed up her attack by smashing her knee into the kid's crotch.

"Remind me to never insult that woman."

Dante out right laughed at his brother's comment, knowing that Vergil always had and always would be forth coming on insults. Eyeing him carefully for the moment though, Dante tuned down his laughter noticing that Vergil's blue eyes still hadn't left Lady's figure. Reminded of something, he chuckled, "You think that's good? You should have seen her back in Hell when she pulled those succubus' off of you!"

Vergil's face turned toward him with a look of interest marring his sharp features. "How so?"

"Well," Dante started and then chuckled again, knowing exactly how he would get Vergil on this one. "You know that song?"

Frowning deeply, Vergil glared at Dante over top of the car. "You are getting off topic."

"No I'm not." Dante replied sternly and stuffed another handful of popcorn in his mouth. He'd make sure and leave Trish at least a handful.

Vergil sighed and rolled his eyes in a look of annoyed tolerance. "I'm hardly a mind reader."

Shaking his head at his brother's lack of enthusiasm, Dante dropped an elaborate hint. "You remember that 'boyfriend' one?"

Vergil's frown deepened if such a thing were possible, undoubtedly already having an idea of where his twin was going with this and not liking it one bit. "Vaguely."

Dante grinned, "Well, it was just like that except… It was my Girlfriend's back and she's gonna kick your ass! Hey na, Hey na, my girlfriend's back!"

Laughing horrendously, Dante ducked into the driver's seat of the car to prevent Vergil from throwing anything at him.

A few moments later, Vergil finally opened the passenger side door and lowered himself into the seat, an absolute venomous look on his face.

"You know," Dante mused, ignoring his brother's death glare. "You should maybe just talk to her. Give her a chance, you know."

Vergil snorted, "What would I care about a human woman?"

Dante shook his head, "God, you can be such an ass sometimes! The very fact that she was in those visions Mundus was feeding you begs to defer!" he returned slightly angrily.

Vergil's death glare softened slightly in surprise, but then returned with a vengeance. "You know nothing."

Returning Vergil's glare with one of his own, Dante countered, "I know you were pretty damn concerned about my welfare when you woke up, and from what Lady told me of your encounter with Jester in Hell… you were right near freaked that you'd end up watching her die. I'm not stupid Vergil, and I resent you thinking that I am. If you don't want to talk to me fine. But don't you bloody treat her like that! She deserves better, and I'll be damned if I let you try to hurt her!"

Swivelling his head to look out the window, Vergil sat in tensed silence.

Sighing, Dante wondered if he had perhaps pushed to far. Running a hand through his hair he tried to make amends, beside if Lady found out he was trying to defend her like this she'd probably put a bullet in his head. But he couldn't help it, she'd become like a little sister to him. "You could at least ask her for Yamato back. She's worked damn hard on it and done an amazing job. If it had been left up to me, I would have just thrown it away." He watched Vergil waiting for a reaction on that one, but when none seemed forth coming, he frowned. "You don't want to see Yamato just yet, do you?"

Vergil shifted uncomfortably on the seat, but continued staring out the window at the car parked beside them.

"Alright," Dante decided to try a new strategy. "I'll tell you what I think and you can tell me if I hit the nail on the head, k?" Without waiting for Vergil to answer, not having expected his twin to answer anyway, Dante continued on. "You don't really want to see your sword, cause not only was it the biggest blow of your life to have 'your own' sword thrust through your gut," Dante personally knew what that felt like, though he wasn't as possessed about his sword as Vergil had been. "But it was also pretty much your jailor for the last seven years. And then there is actually having to talk to Lady to get it back. Seeing as how you aren't even sure what your feelings are in connection to her, you've decided to avoid her like plague until you've figured out for yourself exactly what the deal is. Am I getting warm yet?"

Vergil's gaze moved from the window as Dante talked, staring instead into the dash in front of him. As Dante finished, he slowly opened his mouth, but quickly clamped it shut as someone suddenly banged on the window beside Dante's head.

Startled, Dante nearly jumped out of his seat and looked to see Trish glaring down at him. Sighing, he rolled down the window.

"Get out of my car!" She nearly snarled at him.

Sighing again, he opened the door and got out of the car. "Yeah, yeah." He grumbled pulling the seat back so that the girls could climb into the back and passed Trish her popcorn back.

"What happened to all my popcorn?" Her face went livid with fury as she looked into the bag.

"That was all that was in there, I swear." Dante lied innocently and waited for Trish to climb in after Lucia and Lady.

Unfortunately she didn't buy it. "Like hell, you pig!"

"Hey, I resent that." Dante frowned at her. "Are you getting in or what?" he asked impatiently.

Her face only got redder, until Dante was sure she could compare with a tomato. "If you think I'm going to let you drive my car again after that insane driving you did to get here, than you've got another thing coming!" Trish snapped, a hand on her hip in a trade mark 'and that's final!' stance.

"Hey! You know technically it's My car." Dante returned, if she thought he was going to back down on this, she didn't know who she was dealing with.

"Don't you Dare start!" Trish spat before going into a torrent of explanations as to why she rightfully owned the silver sports car.

Finally Dante threw his hands up into the air. There was just no winning with this woman! Giving in, he joined Lucia and Lady in the backseat, which he instantly regretted as he found himself nearly mashed into the seat beside Lady.

Trish pushed her seat back purposefully, further cramping Dante, and got in behind the wheel. "If you don't like it then get me a van!" she said, staring into the rear view mirror to meet his gaze.

Like hell he was going to get a van! There couldn't have been a more repulsive vehicle out there! Folding his arms across his chest in defiance, Dante returned her reflected glare. "Just keep on dreaming about that one, babe."

With an incoherent snarl, Trish started the car and threw it into reverse.

Grumbling himself, Dante stared at the back of his brother's head. Damn, should have made him ride in the back.

Sighing in frustration – couldn't do anything about it now – he glanced to Lady to see her outright beaming. "Well, at least someone's happy around here."

Lady's grin grew. "Don't you know by now that I'm always happy after teaching some male morons a little respect?"

Shaking his white head, Dante could only marvel at the oddness of this woman. At her ripe age of twenty-six, most women at the same age would have taken the whistle and subsequent comments as a compliment. Lady however saw it as an insult to her way of life and intelligence. Hmm, guess she and Vergil did have some things in common. Vergil had never taken well to having girls drooling all over him either. "So I guess they'll think twice about whistling after a girl again, eh?"

Without responding, Lady leaned back against the seat looking very proud of herself.

Shaking his head again at the strange company he kept, Dante squirmed in his spot, trying to get more comfortable in the cramped back seat of the Ferrari.

In what Dante thought of as a feat in itself, Lady leaned over, her lips practically against his ear and whispered, "You could always get her an SUV."

Contemplating that suggestion, Dante decided it wasn't half bad. Not only did an SUV have more room like a van but also unlike that repulsive vehicle it had power, four-wheel drive and looked ten times better. "Hmm, that's not a bad idea." He murmured in appreciation to Lady. "Not a bad idea at all."


	16. Music Mayhem

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or anything related to Devil May Cry. Check chapter 2 for more information!

Author's Notes: Well this is it the last and final chapter. I must say it has been fun and thank you so much for all of your support and lovely reviews! I hope you enjoy this final instalment… you should be warned though it is borderline songficish, but it's all for a purpose. Anyway, I am planning to do a sequel though I think I'll get it mostly written before I update it. Oh, if anyone knows anything about private airplanes and how they work as far as a need for going through customs and stuff, could you let me know! It would be really helpful. Also there is a quote at the end of the chapter just before the order and names of all the songs I used, that I'm sure everyone will recognize, though it isn't a part of the chapter. Also, all the lyrics will be in italics along with the usual flashback stuff. Okay? Thanks again to everyone! Adios!

Chapter 16: Music Mayhem

Warm water cascaded over Vergil's body in a delightful sensation of cleanliness. It was such trivial things that Vergil was really beginning to appreciate. In Hell, there was a deplorable lack of personal hygiene, something that he had been forced to grow accustomed to. Now with free access to all the simple luxuries of life, Vergil decided that he was entitled to a little indulgence.

He sighed in contentment, relaxing into the warm stream of water from the showerhead above him. Perhaps it was worth putting up with the human world if for nothing else than to be able to have a shower whenever he felt like it.

It had been almost a full month since he had been taken from his torture chamber in Hell. For the most part any lingering nightmares had dissipated, though every so often he would wake in the middle of the night dripping in sweat as his brain tried yet again to grasp reality. Funny how his little brother knew him well enough that even after all that had happened between the two of them, Dante had known how to get his mind off of the past. Vergil smirked softly as a scene from the Transformers movie played over in his mind, reminding him of his youth.

_------------------_

_"Me Grimlock! Me king!"_ Dante growled, keeping his arms in close to his body in imitation of the Dinobot.

_"Die Autobot!"_ Vergil screeched in a high-pitched voice, running past his younger brother and using his hands as guns, shot at him repeatedly.

Dante made a grab for him, but missed by mere inches. _"Stand still!"_

_"Ha ha ha! You can never catch me!"_ Vergil laughed in the same high-pitched voice and jumped up onto the back of the couch.

_"Grimlock catch nasty Decepticon!"_ Dante growled and caught a hold of Vergil's leg.

_"Hey!"_ Vergil snapped in his own voice, annoyed with his younger brother again. _"I'm flying! You can't catch me while I'm flying."_

_"That's not fair! You're always flying!"_ Dante whined in his own voice. _"I wanna be Starscream then."_

_"No! If you want to fly than you can be Swoop or Thrust."_ Vergil said, angrily trying to shake off his twin's grasp on his leg.

_"No, they suck!"_ Dante whined again. _"I wanna be Starscream!"_

_"No! You are too slow and dumb to be Starscream."_ Vergil stated matter-of-factly, balancing precariously on top of the back of the couch on one leg and still trying to vigorously remove his other leg from his twin's hand. _"Let go!"_

_"MOM!"_ Dante screamed without letting go. _"Vergil is being mean again!"_

Growling at his tattle telling little brother – he was always calling for mom – Vergil listened for any sound from the kitchen. Hearing none he smirked, but his smirk was short lived as Dante also hearing nothing decided to take matters into his own hands. A sharp tug had Vergil careening backwards onto the couch, nearly hitting his head on the coffee table. Thankful that he had been facing his twin behind the couch and not the other way around, thus making his landing a little less painful, Vergil snarled in fury. More in anger at nearly being injured than because he was, he righted himself and leapt back over the couch, tackling his brother.

A short scuffle broke out between the two and within short order Dante was screaming for their mother again.

_"Sparda! Your sons are destroying the living room again."_ Vergil paid his mother's voice little heed as he yanked on his brother's white hair.

Therefore he was just a little shocked when he was suddenly lifted off his brother and his father's voice spoke in a mixture of sadness and amusement. _"Why can't you boys just get along?"_

_"It's all Vergil's fault!"_ Dante whined and pointed a chubby finger at Vergil from their father's opposite arm.

_"It is not!"_ Vergil growled defiantly.

Their father chuckled and shook his head, carrying them back around the other side of the couch._ "Well, do you think the two of you can put your differences aside for half an hour?"_ he asked, setting them down on the couch and situating himself between the two siblings.

Vergil paused in his next torrent of defensive accusations as his father turned the TV on and flipped through the channels until the opening song of their favourite show came on.

Gasping softly, Vergil realised that he had nearly forgotten about Transformers and consequently would have missed the show.

Dante was glued instantly to the television, with Vergil providing the screen most of his attention. When his father placed an arm around his shoulders, Vergil smiled softly and relaxed against his father's side, willing to forget his spat with his twin for at least a little while.

_-----------------------_

Vergil smiled softly in remembrance. There had only been a few times in his life where he could honestly admit that he had been truly happy. Watching the old Transformers cartoon with his father and brother certainly ranked among his personal favourites.

Finishing up his shower, Vergil stepped out of the tub and grabbing a towel, quickly towelled his hair before wrapping it around his waist. Wiping the condensation from the mirror, Vergil gazed at himself critically. His blue eyes had returned to their chilly disposition. The sharp features of his face had once more hardened leaving only a few lines near his eyes that bespoke of the torture he had lived through. His hair that at the moment was slightly dishevelled from the towelling, shone once more with health, making it seem as if it were made of the purest platinum.

Perhaps it was time, he mused silently, slipping a hand through his still damp hair. After a quick search of the cupboards, Vergil found the styling products he would need.

Five minutes later, Vergil smirked at the reflection of himself, his hair once more standing on end in his former hairstyle of choice.

"Much better." Vergil murmured in satisfaction and then set about dressing in the fine clothes Dante had ordered for him. Determined though to not owe his brother any more than he already did, Vergil decided he would have to make a shopping trip of his own yet and build on his wardrobe. That was of course only if his accounts were still intact and some bank manager hadn't gotten overzealous with his funds.

Exiting the bathroom, Vergil started down the hallway. He paused outside of Lady's room, the resonating feel of Yamato's power calling to him. Gazing into the room, he studied Lady momentarily as she sat on her bed reading a book.

There was something about her that bothered and yet caught his interest more than any woman ever had in his past. And if he had still been the young man of his past he would have found her an interesting challenge. Just another woman to break to his will. But now there was a nagging doubt at the back of his mind that she would not break nor even bend, along with an even more ingrained uncertainty that that wasn't what he really wanted anymore.

Shoving the thought angrily aside – he would deal with the return of his sword when he had all his annoying feelings and doubts sorted out or obliterated – Vergil continued once more down the hallway.

He paused yet again to admire his brother's room. He had to admit he was rather impressed that Dante had managed to repaint and restore his room to its original décor in less time than it had taken four of them to alter it in the first place.

Continuing once more on his way down into the office, the sound of slightly familiar music reaching his ears, Vergil paused one last time to watch his little brother.

Dressed already in his red leather hunting gear, Dante sat at his desk pouring over paperwork. If there was one thing that Vergil had never thought to see his twin doing, was sitting down and actually working with paper and pen. Dante had always been more hands on.

Suddenly Dante stopped in his work and lifted his head, sang at the top of his lungs, "What I've done! I'll face myself to cross out what I've become! Erase myself and let go of what I've done!"

Instantly recognizing the song from the Transformers movie, Vergil listened a bit more carefully to the lyrics. He frowned softly as he realized that the song was nearly a mirror for his current situation and life. He had done many horrible things, all in pursuit of power and revenge, and achieved nothing. He had failed at every turn, until in the end, there was nowhere else to turn, nowhere else to run. His own little brother had been able to accomplish more in his life than Vergil had, when it should have been the other way around. He was the elder; it should have been Dante turning to him for help and not the other way around.

The song continued, _"I start again and whatever pain may come! Today this ends! I'm forgiving what I've done!"_

Vergil debated that line. He had never apologized for anything he had ever done and had no intention of starting, but he was now faced with an interesting opportunity. He could use this second chance at life to continue on his quest for power, or he could start anew, work alongside of his brother, fix the mistakes he had made and when the time came to once again seek revenge on Mundus… he would be fully prepared.

Pursing his lips, Vergil nodded. The song was right; today he would start anew.

Descending the last of the stairs, Vergil walked toward his brother as the music shifted to another song that he did not recognize.

"Evening!" Dante greeted cheerfully, the pen in his hand still moving.

"It seems you weren't joking. You really have changed." Vergil stated humorously, coming to a stop just before the thick wooden desk.

"Yup. Paperwork sucks, but someone's got to do it." Dante glanced up with a smile. "You talk to Lady yet?" he asked, returning to his work.

"At the moment I see no point in that." Vergil answered coldly.

Dante sighed and shook his head. "You can't avoid her forever, you know. She is an important part of this getup, not to mention she does live here."

"I am aware of that." Vergil returned, not at all impressed with Dante's prying. Before Dante could continue with the current topic of conversation, he questioned, "Where is Lucia? I told her I would assist with research."

"Oh, ah…" Dante scratched his head with the end of the pen. "Either making coffee or in the library."

Vergil nodded and headed past Dante, aiming for the door that led to the kitchen.

"So I never asked you, did you meet up with our 'dear' uncle?" Dante questioned without turning toward Vergil, his tone bitter.

Pausing with his hand on the kitchen door, Vergil turned back to look at his twin's back. "I did." He answered softly.

"And?" Dante asked, looking over his shoulder now with interest.

"I killed him and took his power." Vergil answered without emotion.

Dante nodded, "I suppose he took that well."

It was a statement, but none the less it had Vergil looking more thoughtful for a moment. "In fact he did. He said he was proud to meet his end at the hands of one of his nephews." Vergil murmured, remembering the confusion his uncle's words had left him in.

Dante frowned and then shrugging went back to his work. "At least that explains why you looked like a backed up toilet as Nelo Angelo."

Vergil snorted and was about to push his way into the kitchen, when a sudden odd feeling settled over him. Despair and fear, the dark feelings that could only be associated with the presence of demons, assaulted Vergil's senses and he narrowed his eyes at the front door. He could feel the anger and hatred of the seething masses just beyond the door.

Dante's head lifted from his paperwork as he too sensed the presence of the demons. His pen remained poised over his work as he critically studied the door across the room from him.

As the door burst open, Vergil had been fully prepared to see the darkness of Hell's denizens flood into the room. Instead a short, fat, middle-aged man stumbled in, quickly shutting the door behind him. He moved quickly for a man of such wide girth, nearly running toward Dante.

"I'm so sorry Dante! I didn't mean to do it! She was just so gorgeous and she was gonna give it up for Free! But… God, I'm so sorry Dante!" The man was practically in tears as he quickly spitted out a host of apologies.

"What did you do Enzo?" Dante stood from his chair, clearly nervous with the current situation as the pen he had been holding fell to the top of the paperwork.

Vergil's gaze went from the man, to the object he was holding in his hands. Concealed as it was by the man's large flabby hands, Vergil wasn't able to get a good look at it, but it wasn't necessary as the object began to glow, softly at first, then growing in brilliance.

Stepping away from the door, Vergil could feel the intensity of the demonic energy beyond the front door growing with each passing moment.

Dante's question was never answered as the object in Enzo's hands exploded with light and there was a resounding shatter around the office, as the artefact destroyed all of the careful inlaid demonic wards. "Ah, Enzo." Dante sighed in disappointment and moved quickly toward the weapons rack. "Get behind my desk before you get killed."

Dante never even made it halfway to the weapons rack, as the door burst in, a chill wind blowing in through the opening followed by a thick impenetrable fog of darkness that Vergil remembered all to well.

The darkness congealed forming into a beautiful blonde woman dressed in a shear mesh night blue dress with long thigh high black boots. Her demonic red eyes found his and held them with a smirk dancing across her full red lips.

A shiver of fear traced its way up Vergil's spine as he faced his former tormentor, but only his stead fast determination and will to keep his emotions and resulting weaknesses from his enemy, kept him rooted in place.

"Weren't you supposed to be dead?" Dante asked cockily, still stealthily moving toward his weapons.

The demonic witch never shifted her eyes nor did she acknowledge Dante as she spoke, "Well, General, it's good to see you survived. The Master has asked me to bring you home."

Dante growled, "Ain't no way I'm goina let you take my bro anywhere!"

Vergil ignored his brother, wondering for himself if he should return to Hell. He did not belong in the human world, but neither did he enjoy the idea of becoming Mundus's errand boy once more. Home… that word stood for a place that had long ago ceased to exist.

"_What if I say I'm not like the others? What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays? You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?_"

Vergil listened to the lyrics of the new song and debated exactly that. What if he never surrendered again? This was his chance to change and if he returned to Hell it would be with power and on his own terms, not on Mundus'. "Tell your Master that I will no longer be ruled."

"Yeah!" Dante agreed vehemently. "The sons of Sparda don't bow to anyone!" Finally making it to the weapons rack he grabbed his twin pistols and spinning the weapons in his hands pointed them at the blonde. "Now I suggest you turn that pretty ass around and go right back to where you came from!"

"Is that your final answer, General?" The blonde asked seductively. Still ignoring Dante she cocked her head to the side, darkness flowing more thickly around her ankles.

Beating his fear back down and stomping on it angrily, Vergil moved forward a few steps and pointing a finger, waggled it at her. "You should know that I do not repeat myself, Melpomene. As my brother said, you are nothing more than an uninvited guest."

"Is that so?" Melpomene asked, tossing her long blonde hair over a shoulder. "Well the Master never specified whether you were dead or alive." She chuckled evilly. "And it matters little to me." With that she raised her arms in the air and promptly disappeared, the swirling mass of darkness spreading outward and forming into numerous lesser demons.

"Hey, Verge, I think your old girlfriend is a real pain in the ass." Dante growled, removing a set of red and blue serrated swords from the wall.

"You have no idea." Vergil grumbled, his eyes remaining focused on the demons still forming out of the darkness, searching for Melpomene's blonde hair. He would be damned if he ever let her so much as lay a finger on him again.

"Trish! Lucia! Lady! We've got a shit load of unwanted company!" Dante yelled and then ran forward, the swords making short work of any demons in his path.

Vergil was forced to pay attention to his own health as numerous demons suddenly appeared around him. With no weapon, he resorted to using his own body as a weapon, quickly reminding himself of the destruction he could create with such simple tactics.

A swift kick lifted the scythe of a lust demon into the air. Catching the weapon in his hands, Vergil smirked at the demons around him. The beat of another unknown song continued to pound out of the stereo speakers, and using the tempo, Vergil swung the scythe in his hands around in deadly precision.

"_Just how deep do you believe?Will you bite the hand that feeds?Will you chew until it bleeds?Can you get up off your knees?Are you brave enough to see?Do you want to change it?_"

Trish and Lucia suddenly burst through the kitchen door; a frying pan in Trish's hand clobbered an unwitting demon out of the pack surrounding Vergil.

"Dante! What the hell?" Lady's voice sounded out over the office from on top of the metal landing.

"Nothing like a party to kick start the evening!" Dante paused in massacring the demons around him to look up at Lady and shrugged.

"Dante has brought his work home again." Lucia answered helpfully, a large kitchen knife held in each hand as she moved toward the weapons rack, disembowelling demons with each step she took.

"Actually I think it's Vergil's fault this time!" Trish corrected, bludgeoning another demon on the head as she followed Lucia. "Hey Enzo." she greeted passing by Dante's desk.

Growling defensively – it was hardly his fault, he had warned Dante that something like this would happen – Vergil spun the scythe in his hands decapitating anything that stood around him. Seconds later the scythe in his hands disintegrated into dust as its former owner met its end.

"Well, General you surprise me. I didn't think you still had it in you to fight." Melpomene's voice spoke sweetly from somewhere behind him.

A sharp fast kick backwards – made only more powerful and more swift by a deep ingrained fear of this woman that he simply could not control – that Vergil used as momentum to swivel around, brought him face to face with the blonde queen of the succubus' that had kept him at their every whim for the last seven years. "You will find that I am more than capable." He answered her stiffly, firmly beating back his fear.

Fear was a weakness, and weakness could not be tolerated. He would prove inescapably to himself that fear had no hold over him with the death of Melpomene. "What ever mistakes my brother made in your death, I will be sure to rectify."

Melpomene laughed richly, throwing her perfectly sculptured head back as though he had said the funniest thing in the world. "Your 'dear' brother," Melpomene sneered, tilting her head back down so that her bright red eyes meet his cold blue. "Made no mistakes in my demise. But because I was such a 'good' girl, the Master revived me."

"Well, than 'my dear'," Vergil returned with his own sneer. "You will quickly find out that 'the Master' does not tolerate failure for very long." With that he struck out at her.

Another swift kick, forced her backwards to avoid being hit. Melpomene infuriatingly dodged everything he sent her way, by mere inches until she suddenly caught his fist in her smaller hand, long red painted nails curving over the back of his knuckles. "I have no intention of failing!" she spat venomously.

Her free fist flew toward him in an uppercut meant to smash into his chin and take him off his feet. Instead her fist smashed into the blue leather of his upraised arm.

"And I have no intention of becoming your play thing once more." Vergil snapped, he would watch Hell freeze over before he'd ever allow that again!

With her current nearness to him, she could not avoid the kick he delivered to her midsection and with a scream she was sent flying away from him, disappearing again before she hit the office wall.

The music on Dante's jukebox changed once more to an old Lover Boy song, and grimacing in slight distaste, Vergil looked around himself, once more trying to locate Melpomene.

He found Trish, noticing that she had upgraded her weapon. Now equipped with a glowing gold sword that nearly dwarfed her; she cut her way through the swarms of creatures, heading to Dante's side. Where she then proceeded to fight along side the younger son of Sparda with a familiarity born from many years of working together.

"Hey!" Dante shouted, pausing and pointing at a few demons close to the juke box and drum set. "Get away from my drums!" Leaving Trish he drove forward, cutting the offending demons into dust with the fiery whirlwinds of his swords.

"Lucy! Nevan!" he shouted at the red-haired huntress standing near the weapons rack, her kitchen knives having been traded off in favour of two wickedly curved daggers, slashing and disembowelling any demons daring enough to face her. She paused and grabbing the odd guitar off the wall, tossed it toward Dante who caught it with expert flourish and after a few notes, a tall red-haired woman with red eyes stood before him. "Do me a favour babe, protect the drum set and keep the rock rolling!"

Melpomene's seductive voice had Vergil swivelling once more in an effort to find her. "I thought you liked being my play toy? Your moans and cries certainly had me fooled then."

Snarling in absolute fury at having been reminded of that shame, Vergil swung around blindly, trying to find the invisible succubus. Her laugh only served to further frustrate and infuriate him.

"Hmm, maybe I'll have some fun with your human lover first. She was such an irritating nuisance when we last met." Melpomene's voice drifted away, and Vergil turned again to look toward Lady, further annoyed by the demoness' comment.

Lady jumped back using the metal staircase as a jungle gym to both avoid and destroy the demons chasing her. There was a flash of steel as she cut through a few demons and then with another jump she was once more standing on the landing, spying him she shouted. "Vergil!"

There was another flash of steel as she propelled something in his direction. Reflexively catching the object he looked down at the bright katana, flashing dangerously in his grip, its power sending waves of pleasure through his arm. Smirking Vergil flipped Yamato up, examining it critically as the demons began to converge on him now that their mistress had grown bored of him.

"_Everybody needs a second chance. You want a piece of my heart… you better start from the start. You wanna be in the show… Come on lets go!_"

Listening to the lyrics of the song playing, Vergil nodded, "Alright."

He jumped as the demons leapt for him, Yamato's blade flashing downward, slicing through heads and bodies of the highest leaping creatures. Vergil landed neatly on his boots, his long coat swiping outward behind him.

The music changed to one that Vergil remembered well from his youth, practicing his sword fighting techniques together with his brother. Seemed this morning would be full of pleasant memories.

"_Blood will follow blood! Dying time is here! Damage Incorporated!_"

Tapping his foot lightly to the tempo, Vergil watched as the lesser demons slowly picked themselves up and reorganized to attack him. All it took was a few quick flicks of his wrist and the demons closest in proximity were writhing at his feet as they slowly turned to dust. Yamato's blade moved in prefect precision to the beat that the music was setting.

Slashing one enemy up into the air, Vergil followed it, cutting it into ribbons while it helplessly wailed about in the air. Descending before the demon, Vergil thrust Yamato upwards, impaling the demon on the blade through the simple force of gravity.

An abrupt switch in music, nearly had Vergil stumbling as he tried to deduce what it was that Dante was listening to now.

"_Cause I am your lady. And you are my man. Whenever you reach for me… I'll do all that I can!_"

By all that was dark and unholy, was Dante seriously listening to… Celine Dion?

Apparently he wasn't for an angry shout issued from near the front door. "What the hell!" Dante yelled, almost getting run through by a Doppelganger's sword as he paused to look toward Nevan.

"It wasn't me." The vampiress replied, sending a swarm of electrified bats off toward a few approaching demons before turning to address the defunked jukebox.

"Who's been messing with Dante's juke box?" Trish yelled out, obviously just as pleased about the slower love proclaiming music as Dante was.

"What? It's a good song!" Lucia cried defensively from the weapons rack.

"It is sooo not!" Dante yelled, half heartedly continuing his battle with the Doppelganger.

Vergil had to agree with his twin, the music was defiantly putting a damper on the battle.

"Don't mess with Dante's juke box!" Lady shouted from the top of the metal staircase where she was fighting with Melpomene. Unfortunately though, the tiny interruption was all Melpomene needed as she knocked Lady off the landing. Lady swivelled midair, her guns pointing back at the blonde demoness and fired rapidly, Melpomene disappearing once more before any of the bullets could find a mark.

"What would you like me to do?" Nevan asked uncertainly.

Lady landed neatly and her voice was quickly added to Trish and Dante's as they shouted in unison. "SWITCH IT!"

"_Enter the arena and hit the lights. Step up now you´re in for a ride.This is war, ain´t no fun and games.We get it up, you go down in flames!_"

As the song was thankfully switched, Vergil went back to work slicing up anything that came before him. Turning at one interval, he found Lady running toward him, a rather large ugly demon hot on her tail. Catching a look in her eyes, Vergil did something that he had never done before, he knelt down on one knee, Yamato's blade cutting an arch behind him as he descended, amputating a demon's legs. Lady didn't hesitate in her charge as she placed a foot up on his raised knee and vaulting off of it, flipped back over the demon's head her guns firing multiple rounds even as Vergil stood and thrust Yamato deep into the chest of the formidable demon. Flipping his blade out of the demon, Vergil faced Lady as she landed, glacial blue eyes meeting burning sapphire and ruby. He truly was surprised at himself for having been able to work with her, as he had only ever been able to work with his twin.

She stepped forward abruptly, coming to his side and shooting the demons that had been behind him even as he returned the favour for her. "So," he murmured, "You still insist on using those toys."

A resounding click of her reloading met his ears before she replied, "Guns are fun! Besides I've learned to use other things." She answered cheerfully.

"_Heads I win, tails you lose. Out of my way I´m coming through. Roll the dice don´t think twice. And we crush, crush´em!_"

Lifting an eyebrow, Vergil glanced to her to see her holster her guns and kick a scythe out of a demon's hands. Catching the weapon she twisted it around. "Duck." She suggested helpfully as she twirled the scythe about her body, eliminating all the demons around them in one fell swoop.

Glad he had taken her advice, Vergil touched his hair, insuring that it was all still there before straightening and looking around at the devastation around them. "Impressive. But hardly conclusive evidence of your skill."

She growled angrily, flinging the scythe away from her where it lodged in the chest of a Vanguard that Lucia was fighting. "Hey!" The red haired huntress cried indigently as the Hell Vanguard dropped to the ground.

Lady opened her mouth to snap at Vergil, but was kept from saying anything as a Sin Scissors appeared before her, screaming wickedly.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, Vergil pulled her back against his chest, an odd familiar feeling descending over him. Thrusting Yamato through the Sin's mask, the creature screamed again.

Lady caught the dropped scissors midair and flipping them around cut the Sin's head off. "You shouldn't play with scissors." She stated to the remains of the Sin.

Vergil chuckled, enjoying the comforting presence of the woman in his arms. Unlike last time though, she was the one to pull away and leave him wondering why the loss of her presence made him feel so empty. He didn't have time to debate on it though as numerous demons required his attention, and Lady went running off to deal with some of her own.

In no time at all Vergil found himself standing beside his brother in the centre of the now cleared office, Lady at his side, with Lucia and Trish at Dante's.

"Good to have you back, bro." Dante grinned at his side.

Vergil met his brother's bright gaze, "I could hardly allow you to take the credit for saving my 'butt' again, as you so eloquently put it last time." Dante's grin widened at that and Vergil continued coolly, "Besides, I owe Melpomene some pain."

Dante laughed heartedly; "So you wanna finish this then?" he asked when he had calmed slightly.

"Indubitably." Vergil responded, his icy gaze returning to the front door in which darkness still seemed to float around with a life of its own.

"I second that!" Trish announced. "Some one's gonna pay for this mess!"

Lucia nodded, "Count me in. It will take weeks to repair the wards."

"Same here!" Lady added, "I think Melpomene needs a taste of her own medicine." Then she added in a soft grumble, " Teach her to think twice about bitch slapping with me."

Vergil caught Lady's grumble and tilted his head to look at her curiously, it seemed that both Melpomene and Lady had taken a new kind of offence towards each other that went beyond the simple demon and demon huntress. It unfortunately reminded him of Dante's taunting a few days earlier after the Transformers movie. Great. Just great.

"Well let's get on with the show then! Come out! Come out! Where ever you are!" Dante shouted, intending to draw the blonde succubus out of hiding.

"Melpomene. The game is over. Show yourself!" Vergil commanded sternly, pushing his thoughts on Lady firmly away.

"You dare to presume to order me about?" Melpomene snarled from behind them. All five of them turned in unison to face the blonde demoness who sat on the top of Dante's desk, one leg crossed over the other further hitching the bottom of her dress up her thighs. "I answer to no one save the Master, 'General'!" she hissed, spitting out Vergil's former title with disgust. "Look at you, joining 'human' scum. Nothing but five lambs being led to the slaughter."

Vergil allowed her sharp words to just roll off him; Dante however took offence. "Jeez! What the heck is it with all of Mundus' cronies. None of them have any respect! I tell you Verge; you'd think after a good couple of ass whoppins they could at least treat us like equals! But nooo! Can't do that!" Dante complained unhappily, gesturing toward Melpomene in emphasis.

"Perhaps you go about teaching your lessons in the wrong manner." Vergil suggested helpfully, keeping his eyes on Melpomene.

"Maybe." Dante coincided thoughtfully. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked, a smirk finding its way onto his lips once more.

"Quite." Vergil murmured watching as Melpomene's red eyes narrowed and she lowered her head deceivingly, blonde hair falling into her face.

"Good." Dante broke out into a grin. "Hey slut! Get your dirty ass off my desk!"

Melpomene growled angrily and disappeared, her voice sounding from the other side of them once more. "If anyone will be receiving a lesson in manners, it will be you!"

The five of them spun toward her once more, and Dante shook his head. "Sorry, but you've no idea what lessons my brother and I are capable of giving. Right, Verge?"

"That is because few have lived to speak of it." Vergil smirked in memory.

"Yeah! Hey Nevan, how 'bout a little Superbeast, eh?" Dante looked to the red haired sorceress.

"You want a little superbeast?" Melpomene cocked her head suggestively. "I'll give you a superbeast."

Vergil's smirk grew, remembering well the song that Dante had declared as their personal anthem when it had come out.

"_Shriek the lips across ragged tongue, convulsing together. Sing violently, move the jaw, cry aloud, bound up the dead triumphantly._"

Listening to the beginning of the song, Vergil watched in slight detachment as Melpomene's body shifted, bones cracking and muscles tearing as her body slowly transformed into a hideous apparition. Fur, scales and ooze covered her body in a disgusting combination. Tentacles grew to replace her arms, even as large dog like legs replaced her lower body and a long wolf like face formed over her once pretty one.

"_The ragged they come and the ragged they kill! You pray so hard on bloody knees. The ragged they come and the ragged they kill! Down in the cool air I can see._"

"Talk about fuugly!" Trish stated in disgust, her huge sword held out before her without wavering, as the large demon grew before her.

"Not to mention the stink." Lucia added, one knife held before her and the other slightly behind, ready for anything.

"Not much of an improvement, Melpomene!" Lady shouted, holding her ground and waving a gun in the direction of the beast.

Vergil waited for the cue in the music, and just as Melpomene completed her transformation, bending to roar at them with slavering jaws, it came.

"_Hey, Yeah! I'm the one that you wanted! Hey, Yeah! I'm your SUPERBEAST!_"

The twins moved together as one, little more than a blue and red blur as they avoided Melpomene's flaying tentacles. Crossing paths just before the huge monster, Vergil and Dante's swords crossed inches over each other as they preformed an x-strike, cutting deep into the creature's thick body.

Lucia and Trish were quick to follow up, diving in under Melpomene's snapping jaws and hacking at the tentacles. Lady wasn't one to be left behind, and she rapidly began firing at the creature before her, rolling out of the way and reloading as necessary.

Dante and Vergil came to a stop behind Melpomene, careful to avoid the thrashing reptilian tail. Dante quickly returned to attacking, jumping over the tail and helping Lucia to sever as many tentacles as possible. Vergil on the other hand took a moment to watch Melpomene's movements. The tentacles that served as her arms were hacked to bits by Lucia, Trish and Dante, only to regenerate seconds later. The thick clawed feet stomped and tried to kick out at anything within range, managing finally to give Trish a swift kick that sent her flying toward Dante's drum set and if it hadn't been for Nevan's swift catch, it would have been a particularly ugly mess. The large jaws snapped this way and that attempting to bite and possible devour anyone foolish enough to get within range.

Stepping back slightly and holding Yamato back, Vergil focused his demon energies, summoning his phantom swords to strike Melpomene. Two of the three swords caused severe damage to both her body and limbs, saving Dante from being slapped by one such tentacle, the final sword struck Melpomene's jaw just as she was to snap up Lady.

Forgetting Lady, the ugly beast roared in pain and began to turn toward him, but Vergil didn't give her the chance. Instead moving forward swiftly, he moved in under the tentacles, tail and legs, slashing at any exposed flesh, until he once more stood behind the large creature.

The whole time, Melpomene snarled and snapped trying in vain to locate and eliminate him. In her thrashing she managed to toss Lucia into the wall with a tail swipe. Another angry random swat sent Dante flying toward Vergil.

Seeing his twin hurtling toward him, Vergil lifted Yamato horizontally, much like a bat. Dante quickly assessed what it was Vergil was planning, and swivelling, his boots landed on the broad side of the sword. Using both the force of his brother's swing and his own push, he ricocheted off the sword.

"Fly, little brother!" Vergil commanded, launching Dante back toward Melpomene.

Before Dante reached the beast's backside, the red aura of his shifting form engulfed him. Seconds later he was completely within his demon form, and twisting with both his swords held out before him, he drilled into the ugly monster's scaled side as it attempted to turn toward him, the flames of his swords whirling about him in a firestorm.

Shifting himself, Vergil lifted off, intending to finish Melpomene before she could cause any more damage.

Flying above her, Vergil noticed both Trish and Lucia back up and aiming to cripple the large hell beast. Lady on the other hand was caught by surprise as a tentacle wrapped about her leg and tossed her high into the air.

Her multicoloured eyes met his glowing orbs, and she reached out a hand even as he reached out his clawed hands to catch her. He was amazed by her lack of fear. In Temen-ni-gru she had been horrified and revolted by the sight of his shifted form, now years later only acceptance and trust burned in her eyes. It seemed Dante wasn't the only one that had changed.

Gripping her arm, he pulled her close against his scaled body, her arm moving simultaneously around his waist to steady herself.

"Nice meeting you up here." Lady smiled, her heavy breathing clearly indicating her exhaustion and yet her eyes and face were still filled with the exited fire of battle lust.

Flipping Yamato so that it was pointing directly down at Melpomene's exposed and vulnerable back, he grinned at the woman at his side. "Ready?" he asked, his voice coming out in a growl, barely heard over top of Melpomene's screams of pain as Dante continued to drill through her body.

Lady smirked, grasping the idea of his plan as quickly as Dante had. "Whenever you are!" she responded, wrapping her free hand around Yamato's hilt, her eyes shining.

Looking back down at his target, Vergil tightened his grip on Lady and flexing his dark blue wings, he gave a mighty flap that sent them plunging toward the monster that was focused on both of the women slicing at its limbs and the red demon burrowing through its body.

Pulling her arm away from his waist, Lady lifted a gun up above them and shot upwards into the ceiling, the recoil of the gun lending even more speed to their descent.

Wrapping his wings around the both of them, Vergil prevented any air resistance, further assisting their momentum until they may as well have been a bullet shot from one of Lady's guns.

Yamato pierced Melpomene's thick slimy hide just behind her neck, just as Dante emerged out of her chest. Instantly shifting once more into his human form, Dante pulled out his twin pistols and aiming them at Melpomene's hound like head, he smirked. "It's been fun!" Bullets flew from his weapons, even as the momentum and force behind both Lady and Vergil drove Yamato further into Melpomene's body, continuing downward.

Only coming to a stop on the wooden floor of the office, Vergil watched with slight detached glee as Melpomene's monstrous body split lifelessly in twain, and then fell to the floor in a shower of black blood.

Feeling much better about himself, now that his former tormentor was dead, Vergil looked around himself. Trish stood on the outer rim of the mess that was quickly pooling around the centre of the office. She looked over the mess with a disgusted and slightly annoyed face. "Great! Look at this mess! Stupid demons, always making such a friggin mess." She grumped, shaking her blonde head.

Lucia and Dante had moved over to his desk. The red-haired huntress was examining the artefact that Enzo had carried in, while Dante leaned over his desk talking to a rather terrified Enzo that was peeking over the top of the desk. "You know Enzo, if they're offering it for free, it's usually a good sign to run away. Really really fast and really really far."

Over by the juke box, Nevan had resumed her old form, and the odd purple guitar now rested against the juke box as a new song spilled out of the near by speakers.

"_Together, we can live! Together, we will thrive! Together, we can break down walls. That got dragged in our way. Together, everything will be okay!_"

Vergil mused over that for a moment, it had taken all five of them working together to eliminate Melpomene.

Shifting back into his human form, Vergil looked to Lady still standing at his side. Although her clothes now clung to her in a provocative manner, she was covered in black blood and other noxious fluids immediately gaining a look of disgust from him.

She however noticed the look and returned it with a sarcastic one of her own. "So much for that shower."

Frowning, he lifted a hand to his hair and immediately let it drop as he found much to his own displeasure that his hair was plastered to his head by the same junk that covered her.

"Oh, here." She expertly changed the subject and reached for something that was strapped to her side.

Handing him a mostly clean leather sheath, he looked it over. "This is not mine." He told her simply after a quick examination of the worn leather showed him an engraved phoenix, something that had never decorated his old plain sheath.

"I know. But yours was so soaked full of blood there was no way that I could get it clean." Lady responded evenly and then began picking her way out of the mess. "I call dibs on the shower!" she announced.

Vergil watched her go, and flicking the blood and goo off of Yamato expertly; he sheathed the sword, not for the last time wondering about his feelings. Even standing as he was surrounded by the remains of a demon, he felt more at peace than he had in a long time. It was a peace that settled over him from not only his surroundings and the companionship he had found with not only his brother, but also with the women that worked and lived with him, but perhaps most importantly it was a peace that grew up out of his very soul. Maybe Dante had been right. Maybe this was where he belonged.

Home. It was a word he had not considered since his mother died, but now he felt the word suddenly applied again.

"_Together, everything will be okay!_" The song continued.

Yes. Perhaps finally he had found that sacred place once more.

Home.

"The End? Don't bet on it…"

1: What I've Done by Linkin Park 2: The Pretender by Foo Fighters 3: The Hand That Feeds by Nine Inch Nails 4: Working for the Weekend by Loverboy 5: Damage Inc. by Metallica 6: The Power of Love by Celine Dion 7: Crush em' by Megadeath 8: Superbeast by Rob Zombie 9 Together by Jet-Set Satellite


End file.
